Pieces of You
by April Roses
Summary: This story takes place after Partings. However, Lorelai never went to see Chris after her fight with Luke.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place right after Partings. However, Lorelai never goes to see Chris

Lorelai listened intently but with frustration as Luke desperately listed all the options they'd have if they chose to elope. The problem was that it was way too late for this. Maybe if he had reacted this way last night, things would have been different.

"Luke," she interrupted.

He stopped his ramblings about Maryland for a moment and stared into her pooling eyes.

She looked at him directly and quietly stated "I'm leaving."

Not believing what he heard, he replied "What?" with a slight chuckle.

"I talked to Sookie and Michel this morning. They've agreed to let me take Mike Armstrong up on his offer."

Luke's voice raised an octave when he questioned with disbelief "What? You're selling the inn?"

"No." Lorelai quickly explained. "I'm going to take him up on his offer to be a consultant."

Leaving no time for Luke to interject, she nervously continued "I told him I'd give him six months. I'll be traveling to different hospitality venues around the world that the Armstrong group has an interest in acquiring. In turn, I'll provide them with my feedback and suggestions on the locations."

Luke's dark eyes pierced through her when he dismissively said "You aren't leaving. You can't leave. You can't just walk away from us! This is crazy!"

Her stomach was in knots but she knew she needed to persist.

Matter of factly she stated "I am leaving."

Concerned she was coming off too harshly she followed with "I'm not just walking away from us. We need time. You need time to be with April - to bond - without worrying about how I'm feeling. I need time to try this on my own. I've never done that before. I've always had someone by my side - either my parents, or Rory, or you - I've never done anything alone. This is the right time for me to try it.

She could tell from the devastated look on his face that he was taking this strictly as a rejection of him.

Softly she said "Luke, I was SO wrong to give you an ultimatum between me and April. I could never choose if you asked me to pick between you and Rory. That was so unfair of me! You were just doing what Luke Danes always does. You were putting your family first. That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you. You are fiercely protective and loyal to your family."

Almost in a whisper she finished with "I always knew you'd be like that when you became a dad." The disappointment was written all over her face that she was not going to be the one to give Luke his first born.

Luke shook his head and replied with insistence "No. You are NOT leaving. We need to work this out HERE. You running away is not going to fix our problems. I've been so stupid. I'm SO sorry that I've been totally ignoring how you've been feeling. I was just so wrapped up in April, I didn't notice what was going on. Now that I know, I'm going to change, Lorelai. I swear that I can fix this. I just need time to..."

"No, Luke!" she angrily interrupted. "No more TIME! I'm falling apart here. I need to get out of here. There is nothing you can say to change my mind so please stop trying."

She hesitated and then added "I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings but I need to get away from you. It's too painful to be near you right now. I'm not saying it's always going to be like this but for now, I need a break."

Anger was beginning to boil inside of him. He knew he had been a jerk these past few months. He knew he deserved her angry words but this was too much.

His seething eyes darted from the wall back onto her as he harshly questioned "You need a break, huh? You need a break from ME, right? Okay Lorelai you've GOT it!"

And with that, he stormed out of her house and out of her life.


	2. Chapter 2

With sadness she said, "Mom, I don't understand. You can't leave me for SIX months. We've never been apart for that amount of time. I understand why you need a break from Luke but are you trying to get away from me too?"

Guilt flooded Lorelai.

"Of course not, honey." she implored. "Look, you're safely tucked away at Yale. You've got Logan. You've got Lane. You know you still have Luke. He adores you. Heck, you've even got your grandparents, if you want them. And...I'm always here, Rory. Just call me any time you want to talk. And, if you really need me, you know I'll come back in a heartbeat. I just need a change. I need to do something just for me. Do you think I'm being selfish?"

Rory sighed and replied "No, you are NOT selfish. You've had to put up with me for 21 years. I can see why you might want to take some time for yourself but do you really need to do it halfway across the globe?"

Humbly she reflected "Rory, aside from our backpacking trip, I've barely left Connecticut in 21 years."

That was it. As much as she knew she'd miss her mom, she realized that SHE was the one being selfish. Her mom had sacrificed so much for her over the years. Even if she didn't understand completely, she had to let her go.

"Say no more, Mom." Rory said with genuine approval. "Call me when you land in London and I can give you some great restaurant recommendations."

Highly relieved Lorelai responded warmly, "I love you, kid and I'll call you just as soon as I land."

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"I don't understand. Is she leaving because of me?" the mousy girl asked.

He didn't know how to respond to that. He always thought he'd be an honest father. Now he could see that honesty wasn't always the best policy.

Luke replied "No, sweetie, of course not.

April looked at him with slight disbelief and added "Because you know there have been many studies done that show the incredible strain that step children put on a new marriage. I know you and Lorelai aren't married but I'm sure my arrival put a lot of -"

Luke had to cut her off. He didn't want her thinking for one second that she was the cause of his relationship problems.

"April, stop!" he exclaimed. Softly he continued, "Lorelai didn't leave because of you. She left because of me. We just - we - we had some problems that we couldn't seem to work out."

Completely lying he continued, "We BOTH decided that taking a break would be a good idea. It doesn't mean that it's over forever."

He wasn't sure if he added the last part for him or for her. It felt like wishful thinking at this point.

"Well," the teen asked curiously, "Does this mean that you and Lorelai are going to start dating other people?"

The lump completely obstructed Luke's throat. He didn't think he could swallow. He hadn't even considered seeing anyone else. Was she? Is that what she really meant when she said she wanted to be alone? After all, she did clearly state that she was leaving to get away from HIM. He couldn't help but think that this was a big part of Lorelai's pattern. She would go from one serious relationship right onto the next. Was he just a stepping stone to the next guy? The knots in his stomach tightened as his daughter waited for an answer.

He stumbled over his words as he truthfully replied "April, the last thing on my mind is getting into another relationship. Right now, I just want to spend time getting to know my daughter. You are my number one priority. Let's just focus on that for now, okay?"

April gave him a weak smile. She was a wise beyond her young years. She hadn't known her father for very long but she could clearly see the devastation reflected in his glassy eyes. She also had an inkling that despite his objections, her presence in his life WAS a major factor in their break up. But she knew it was best to just let it go for now.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, you've had a look at our London target. I'm so curious to hear what you think." Mike Armstrong said sincerely.

Lorelai pulled out her carefully written notes. It was so NOT like her. If she had been back home, these notes would have been scribbled on the back of a Pop Tart box. Mike didn't need to know that though.

"Overall, I was really impressed." Lorelai shared. "The staff to client ratio is excellent. I couldn't find a single fault with any of the departments including food services and housekeeping. The staff there are top notch. I wouldn't replace any of them, if it were up to me."

Mike nodded slowly and interjected "Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. We aim to keep the cream of the crop but keeping them all is totally out of the question. We wouldn't turn a profit."

Lorelai was confused. "So, are you saying that you acquire these great places, fire a percentage of the staff and then still expect it to deliver outstanding service?" she asked naively.

Mike could see the skepticism all over Lorelai's face. "Well, our primary goal is to retain the high quality of service. We know that's not always possible but we try very hard. We select these venues because of their excellent ratings and reviews. Most of the time, patrons don't even notice that the location has changed hands. Yes, they might report a slight slip in the quality of their service, but overall people remain greatly satisfied." he explained.

Lorelai's frankness got the better of her. "So, it's like a bait and switch? You lure the customer in when they hear great reviews from travel agents or a write up in a travel magazine and just hope that they don't notice the downgrade in service that you've made after you take over?" she asked with slight annoyance.

Mike appreciated Lorelai's candor. He wasn't sure he'd appreciate it so much if it came from a less attractive colleague but she was simply charming. Her morals and standards were commendable.

Trying to lighten the mood, he said "It's not quite as cut throat as you make it out to be. I'm sure if you do some research on our properties, you'll see that we are highly regarded in the industry. No death threats against me or my family, that I know of. There might be a few questionable nicknames floating around out there for me, though."

Lorelai realized how judgmental she must have sounded and apologized. "I'm sorry. I must really look like a fish out of water. Firing people is something I'm just not good at. I always have to delegate that to someone else when it's needed. And - gee - you are probably NOT someone I should be telling my weaknesses to." she laughed.

"No need to apologize, Lorelai. I find your input refreshing and insightful. I'm glad you decided to come aboard." he said truthfully. Lorelai smiled while secretly thinking that accepting this position might have been a very big mistake.

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"Dad, you wouldn't know how to French braid would you?" April asked with doubt.

Luke looked at her like she had two heads.

"You're kidding right?" he responded.

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just that with Mom in New Mexico. I miss..." she caught herself before she finished her thought. She hesitantly continued "I just miss some of the things we'd usually do together."

Luke got it. There were some things that only a mom could do. He thought about it and then remarked "I can't French braid but I'm sure I know someone who can. I'm thinking we can ask Sookie. She braids bread - that's kind of the same thing, right?"

April laughed at her dad. "It's hardly the same thing but she's a good one to ask."

Luke called Sookie. She was more than happy to come over and put two French braids in April's hair. He couldn't completely tune them out when he heard them gossiping about movie stars and Miss Patty's new boyfriend. He couldn't help but think that Lorelai would have fit in flawlessly with the hairstyling and gossip. He questioned why he had been so afraid to let her in.

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The text popped up on her phone at 11 pm. It read "Is this a good time to call and catch up?" She hadn't heard from him since the disastrous bar scene with Logan.

Alone in her bedroom, she texted back "Sure, I'd love to catch up with you."

30 seconds later, her phone rang.

"Hey Jess, this is quite the surprise!" she remarked.

"Yeah, I heard you're back at Yale and just wanted to check in." he casually responded.

She knew he was lying.

"Really?" she questioned and then continued, "Well, yes, I'm back at Yale - thanks to you. You gave me the kick in the head that I needed."

He already knew that information from Luke. It was something else that Luke said that made him call her.

"Good, good, that's great to hear, Rory. Glad my power of persuasion is still pretty effective. How's everything else going?" he inquired.

Rory was ready to cut through this frivolous weather talk.

"Jess," Rory started, "I have a feeling you called for more than just a boring update on my life. What's really going on?"

Jess confessed "Okay, hey, I talked to Luke. I know about your mom leaving town. That has to be HUGE for you. I wanted to make sure that you're okay. Luke said that he hasn't seen you in weeks and I could tell he was worried about you."

Rory sighed. It was so nice to have someone that knew her so intimately. Jess got how close she and her mom are. Logan tried but he didn't quite grasp it.

Fighting the urge to break down, she softly revealed, "It's been really hard, Jess. I'm so used to talking to her everyday. Now being in different time zones, we are always missing each other. I miss Stars Hollow but it feels empty when I'm there. I tried going home one weekend and didn't even make it through the night. The house was so lonely without her in it."

She stopped when she realized how pathetic she sounded.

"I'm sorry." she continued. "I know I must sound like I'm 12 years old."

"No, stop. Don't apologize." he said sweetly. "I really want to know how you are doing. Have you told your mom how miserable you are?"

Rory released the breath she had been holding and said "No. Jess, she needs this time away. It would be selfish of me to ruin it for her. She had reached her breaking point with Luke and..."

She caught herself before she said too much. She didn't want to break her mother's confidence by saying anything negative about Luke to Jess.

Jess understood what she was trying to do.

"I won't repeat anything you tell me, Rory. I'm still good at keeping secrets. And, for the record, I can see why your mom needed a break from Luke and April. He went a bit insane when he learned about her." he chuckled.

Rory laughed too and responded "He DID, right? I mean why would he keep my mom away from her? I can't wrap my head around it. I've tried and I just can't justify it. I don't want to say anything bad about Luke because I love him and I know he's your uncle. It's just that..."

Jess interrupted and said "Please, you're preaching to the choir. I told him he's crazy. I think he might be starting to get it now that your mom is gone and he's had all this alone time with April. I think he's beginning to realize that it's okay to let other people help him with her. Baby steps for him. You know like it's okay if Andrew recommends a book that she might like to read. Or it's okay to let Sookie teach her how to French braid. He's even letting Zach give her guitar lessons, last I heard."

Rory guessed these revelations should have made her feel better but she couldn't help but still feel sad.

Dejected, she commented "Seems like his change of heart has come a bit too late."

"Aw, don't say that." Jess scolded. "You of all people should have some faith that they'll work this out. You're always full of optimism."

Rory confided, "Yeah, you didn't see my mom before she left. She was totally broken. Honestly, she told me that she wasn't writing Luke off completely but I don't know how they could ever fix this, Jess. It's a mess."

"Can I ask you something else?" Jess questioned.

"Sure." Rory responded easily.

"Why haven't you been in to Luke's? Are you mad at Luke too? Is it April?" Jess asked directly.

Rory paused. She already sounded like a baby earlier in the conversation. She was worried that Jess would think she was a total nutcase.

Jess sensed that Rory was mulling over her answer. "Just tell me the truth, Rory." he remarked.

Rory's voice cracked when she replied "I didn't think he'd want to see me. Mom is gone and he has April now - you know the daughter he's always wanted. I think I was a...well, maybe just a filler until she came along."

Jess could hear the pain in Rory's voice and knew he needed to set her straight.

"Rory, Luke LOVES you. He has loved you since you were a little girl. Hell, he's known you at least a decade longer than he's known his own daughter. And he thinks of you LIKE a daughter. He thinks that you're mad at him and that's why you are staying away." Jess confided.

Jess' caring words made Rory feel better than she had in weeks.

"I told you things were a mess." Rory sighed.

"Will you do me a favor?" Jess asked nicely.

"What?" Rory hesitantly questioned.

Jess requested, "Will you go and visit Luke this weekend? Just stop by the diner and say hello. Even if it's just for 2 minutes...I think it will make you both feel better."

"I'll try." Rory answered honestly.

"Can't ask for more than that." Jess replied.

The two spent another hour on the phone catching up. Rory couldn't help but notice that Jess never mentioned or asked about Logan. Could she blame him after what happened the last time the three of them were together? Rory hung up the phone and climbed into bed. She wondered if seeing Luke this weekend would be a good idea. She didn't want her mother to feel betrayed - but she didn't want Luke to think she was avoiding him because she was mad at him. She decided to sleep on it and make a decision in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Rory took a deep breath, sighed and then pushed open the wooden diner door. Jingle bells rang above her head. It was the mid afternoon lull so Luke looked up immediately from his paper work.

"Hey, Rory." he said with a smile.

He walked out from behind the counter and approached her. She looked tired and weathered. He wanted to hug her but the awkwardness between them stood in his way.

She gave him a shy smile and said softly, "I hope it's okay that I stopped by. With Mom gone, I didn't know if you would want me to..."

She struggled to find the right words.

There was no need.

He reassured her "I'm SO glad that you did. I've been worried about you. I don't think I've ever had this big of a stretch of time when I haven't seen or heard about one of you Gilmore girls."

She could hear the sadness as he ended his sentence.

Rory hesitated and then said "Yeah, I wasn't sure you'd want the reminder that Mom wasn't here."

Luke could see the hurt wash over Rory's face. He wanted to talk to her but not here under the prying eyes of the town.

"Do you have a few minutes?" he asked. "We could go upstairs to talk and I'll make you some coffee. You look like you could use it."

"Gee, thanks." she replied with slight sarcasm.

She didn't know if she wanted to be alone with Luke and have to get into all this stuff between him and her mother. She felt a bit cornered.

He could see she was reluctant.

"Come on, I promise I won't bite and I also promise that we don't have to talk about anything that you don't want to - and that includes your mother." he reassured.

Rory nodded and followed Luke up the old stairs.

She hadn't been up to Luke's apartment in so long. Really since she had been with Jess. Memories came flooding back as she looked around. Mostly good ones that made her giggle inside.

Luke noticed that she looked slightly more relaxed.

"Sit, sit." he said. "Tell me what's been going on. How's Yale?"

She smiled and enthusiastically chatted, "Yale is good. I love my classes. The newspaper has been challenging but in a good way. Logan and I are getting along. I'm definitely going to graduate this year - made up all the stuff that I missed when I took my "break" from Yale. Yeah...things are good."

He looked pridefully at her and remarked "I can't believe this is your LAST year. It's crazy. I'm SO proud of you!"

Rory's eyes began to well up with tears. Embarrassed, she tried to fight it.

Luke noticed immediately.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked with concern.

Rory shrugged and looked away.

"Rory, you know you can talk to me. Tell me what's going on." he said softly.

She began "It's just - just that - I miss Mom so much. And, I just - I just feel - so lonely and..."

There was no stopping her tears now...or her words.

She continued "Mom told me that I could come to you, if I needed anything. But I wasn't sure if you would want..."

He interrupted "Of course you can. What do you need?"

She suddenly felt silly and ridiculous. Why was she crying to her mom's ex-boyfriend that she felt replaced by his 13 year old daughter?

Composing herself, she answered "I don't need anything, Luke, thanks. I'm sorry for being so emotional, I just miss Mom and was having one of those days."

She stood up abruptly and announced "I should go."

Luke was used to being pretty passive. Something told him though that this was not the time to be himself.

"No, Rory - wait." he said with a bit of uncertainty. "How come haven't you come by lately?"

"I, um - well, you know I've been busy with school and I figured you'd be busy with April and I didn't want to get in your way so..." her uncomfortable voice trailed off.

It hit him like a ton of bricks. Not only did he drive his fiance away - he also drove her daughter away too. He wanted to kick himself all the way to Hartford for being SO stupid!

"Rory, I'm SO sorry." he sincerely apologized. "I should have called YOU to check up on YOU. I should have done that as soon as your mom left. I know how hard it is for me with your mom away. I can only imagine what this is doing to you. It's my fault that she's gone and I didn't even think about who else this would effect. I'm a total jerk!"

She appreciated his words but felt like they were convenient for the moment.

It's okay, Luke. Really it is." she said half heartedly.

He wasn't buying it.

"No, Rory, it's NOT." he insisted. "I've been wallowing in my own stuff here not even thinking about you. That's not right. I've been doing that for months. I've been completely self centered - totally ignoring everything and everyone except April. It's a wonder why it took your mother so long to leave me. I guess she was trying to wait it out - wait for me to figure it out - I wish she would have pointed it out sooner - not that my stupid self would have listened but maybe...I don't know...maybe things could have turned out differently."

"You're just excited." she reasoned. "You just found out you have a daughter. Everyone who knows you knows that family means everything to you, Luke."

That's when it finally hit him and he completely deflated.

He looked directly at her and said quietly "Yeah, but you and your Mom are MY family. You've been practically my entire family for years now. I tossed you both aside like trash as soon as April came along. You must hate me."

Rory swallowed hard.

"Luke, I could never hate you. I love you and Mom loves you. We understand why you needed to focus on April. But, I'd be lying if I said that it didn't hurt." she said tearfully.

The awkwardness was gone.

He approached the weary girl and pulled her into a strong hug.

Rory lost all composure and began to sob.

Luke soothed "Don't worry. Hey, we're going to figure this out. And I want you to know that no matter what happens between your Mom and me, you will ALWAYS have me, Rory."

Rory tried to silence her her cry. She took a few deep breaths.

He needed to add something very important.

"I also need you to know that April did NOT replace you. I know that I've made you feel that way but she hasn't. I love you, Rory. I think of you like my daughter. Finding April did NOT change that." he said earnestly.

She didn't know if she should but she sort of believed him.

She released her arms from around him and pulled back.

Sniffling she confessed "Thanks Luke. I know it might not look like it, but I really do feel better. I've been feeling so sad about you, and Mom...and me."

"Me too." he said softly. "I'm glad things are better - at least between us. I'm afraid I've got a lot of work to do if I'm ever going to make this up to your mother."

Rory nodded in agreement.

For the first time in a long time Luke felt something new - a glimmer of hope.


	5. Chapter 5

Lorelai read over her list. It had various numbered items and next to each one was a check. She began to read it aloud. "Have dinner in a restaurant alone - check. Order room service and eat it alone - check. Ride the subway alone - check. Visit a museum alone - check. Go to a movie alone - check."

She threw the list down and screamed "I HATE BEING ALONE!"

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. When she looked out of the peep hole, she realized it was the bell boy, Manuel. He had helped her bring her luggage up to her room earlier. She opened her door slowly.

"Yes?" she innocently asked the handsome young man.

"We heard a scream. Is everything alright, Ms. Gilmore?" he asked with concern.

"Shit" she thought. "I need a good cover for this one" she said to herself.

"Oh, I'm SO sorry" she gushed to the young man. "I was just rehearsing for a play that I'm auditioning for. I hope I didn't disturb any of the other guests while I was running my lines."

Manuel gave her a quizzical look and then said "Very well, Ms. Gilmore. I just wanted to make sure you were not in any distress."

"Aw, thanks Manny. I'm just FINE." she laughed as she closed the door abruptly.

God, she was such a loser. Here she was trying to have all this alone time and she just discovered that she couldn't stand being alone. She missed everyone and everything. Most of all she missed Rory. But there were so many other things too. Things, really people, really one person, that she kept trying to push out of her mind...Luke.

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Luke picked up and hung up the phone five times in a row. How does this work? Does taking a break mean that I can't call her? I WANT to call her but she's trying to get away from ME. Calling her seems wrong but I miss her so much. He wrestled with his conscience for a few seconds longer.

Determined, he picked up the phone again but this time he actually placed the call.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered.

Crap! He had no idea where in the world she was. He didn't consider the time zones.

"Hey, it's me." he quietly rasped.

Of course she'd know his voice anywhere.

"Luke? It's the middle of the night. Is everything okay?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah, sorry." he apologized and confessed, "I didn't think about the time when I called you."

Lorelai rolled over onto her back. Hearing his deep voice soothed her for a moment. But sadly, the rush of recent memories killed the calm in a mere instant.

"What's going on?" she said with a tinge of coldness.

The coldness wasn't lost on Luke.

Honestly, he explained "Look, I don't know if there are rules here. I miss you like crazy and I just wanted to hear your voice. I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Is that okay?"

The coldness began to thaw.

"Sure" she replied and confessed softly, "I miss you too."

"You do?" he asked skeptically.

"Of course I do." she replied. "I mean, I guess I don't miss what we turned into but I miss what we used to be."

He felt his heart break just a little bit more.

Not sure where to go with the conversation, he went to a safe topic.

"Rory came by the diner today." he revealed.

Just hearing her daughter's name tugged at Lorelai's heart strings.

"Yeah?" she said warmly. "How's she doing? I mean I talk to her but...it's not the same thing as seeing her, you know?"

He didn't know how much to say about their visit.

"Well, she misses you a lot." he said truthfully.

"Gosh, the feeling is mutual." she sighed.

Luke fought the urge to say "Then why don't you come HOME, dammit?" Instead he went with, "We talked a little bit about you, me, her and April."

She was glad he couldn't see her rolling her eyes. She could feel the knot beginning to form. As lonely as she was, she didn't miss the constant feeling of a noose tightening around her neck.

He heard her sigh and thought that maybe this phone call had been a mistake.

He debated on whether he should continue or not.

Deciding to continue he said, "I want you to know what I told her."

"Okay." Lorelai replied indifferently.

Sincerely he stated, "I started out by apologizing to her. You and Rory ARE my family and I've treated you like dirt these past couple of months. I know I pushed you both aside for April."

Lorelai was surprised to hear such a candid confession from him - but couldn't help but feel like it came way too late.

He continued, "And I told her that no matter what happens between you and me, or April and me, I will ALWAYS love her and I will ALWAYS be there for her."

She nodded knowing that he truly meant those words. He had been there for Rory since she was a little girl. She knew that he'd never turn his back on her.

"She really needed to hear that, Luke. I'm sure it meant a lot to her." Lorelai stated with sincerity.

Luke asked with hesitant curiosity, "But what does it mean to you?"

She really wanted to snap "too little too late" at him but knew it was an inappropriate answer. She tried to gather her thoughts and form a decent answer.

"I appreciate the acknowledgement that you basically discarded me and Rory these past few months. But, acknowledging it, doesn't really change anything, Luke." she said plainly.

"Right." he responded with a bit of enthusiasm. "That's why I've got a plan."

"A plan?" Lorelai questioned while stifling a chuckle.

Her eyes were rolling again as she waited for him to reveal his master plan.

"Come home." he strongly commanded. "Things will be different, I promise you. You, me, Rory and April...we'll spend time together. I get it now. I get that WE are a family - the four of us. I understand now that I can't do this alone. I tried it that way and I've learned that I REALLY suck at a lot of different things."

He had peaked her curiosity now.

"And just what do you suck at?" she wondered.

"Well," he said light heartedly. "I've learned that I can't French braid. I don't know how to do the Cotton Eyed Joe. I don't know if you put eye shadow on before or after mascara. I don't even know what traveling pants are for and why sisters would share them."

Lorelai smiled.

Luke wasn't done though.

"I get it now, Lorelai." he earnestly explained. "I can't make up the years I missed with April by just devoting every second I have now to her. She certainly doesn't want me hovering over her 24/7. It's the day to day things that count - picking her up from school, making dinner together, meeting her friends, and stuff like that."

Lorelai reflectively asked "And what about baking her a cake on her birthday? Or building her a bookshelf? Or making her chocolate chip pancakes after a boy dumps her?"

Luke smiled when he remembered doing all those things for Rory.

"Yeah," he said softly, "all those things too."

Lorelai was torn. She missed home SO much and SO wanted to believe Luke's words but lingering doubts nagged at her. She just wasn't ready.

She shared, "Luke, I can't come home yet."

"Why?" he asked somberly.

"I'm still trying to figure things out." she explained honestly.

"Figure out what?" he asked desperately.

She tried to explain, "Figure out ME...I guess. Figure out what turned me into this meek woman who couldn't stand up for herself. Figure out why I was SO afraid to tell you how I was feeling. Figure out how I can stop myself from ever becoming that person again. I have to work this out on my own before I can come back. That's why I had to get out of Stars Hollow, Luke. Pieces of you are everywhere there. I needed to be in a place where there aren't any pieces of you. I'm sorry. I don't expect you to sit around and wait for me to come back. I really don't."

He wanted to understand but he really didn't understand. He did get that their lack of communication had been a major factor in their relationship downfall. He realized his only option was to give her more time.

He warned her, "Just know, that I AM going to be sitting around waiting for you. I'll sit and wait just as long as it takes, Lorelai. I'm not going anywhere."

Her heart fluttered at his words.

Maybe it was okay to have a little hope that things might turn out alright after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Lorelai felt ridiculous but she couldn't think of any other way to do this. She knew she needed answers - quickly.

The phone rang three times before it was answered.

Lorelai heard a professional voice state, "Hello, this is Carolyn Bates."

Lorelai went silent - which rarely happens unless her mouth is full.

"Hello?" an impatient voice asked. "Is anyone there?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and begin to ramble "Ah, hi Lynnie. Oh, I mean, Ms. Bates - or oh geez or do I call you Dr. Bates? I'm sorry I don't know how to do this."

"Who IS this?" the woman questioned with wonder.

Lorelai exhaled and explained in rapid fashion, "This is Lorelai Gilmore. We met at a Friday night dinner at my parent's house - Richard and Emily Gilmore. They tried to fix you up with my daughter's mostly absent father, Christopher Hayden - which didn't seem to go too well. But then I ended up having a complete melt down in your car afterwards when I told you about my fiance who didn't want me to have anything to do with his surprise 12 year old daughter. And you -"

Caroyln cut her off fearing Lorelai would never stop her chattering "Of COURSE, I remember you, Lorelai. Please call me Lynnie. Is everything okay?"

Lorelai quipped "Well, if everything was okay, would I really be calling a complete stranger to chat?"

Lynnie conceded "I guess not."

There was more silence on the phone line.

"Is there something I can help you with, Lorelai?" Lynnie offered.

Lorelai hopefully replied "I hope so. I realize that I'm probably one of those people who needs years of therapy but the truth is that I don't have that kind of time. I did what we talked about - that night in your car. I gave Luke an ultimatum. It didn't go well because, well...he didn't choose me. So, I left Stars Hollow and took a consulting job with another company. I decided that it was time that I try things out of my own. I needed to get away from all these pieces of Luke that were constantly everywhere."

Lynnie interjected "Well - that's interesting - how is that going?"

"It's going TERRIBLE!" Lorelai exasperatedly exclaimed. "I HATE being alone. I miss everyone. Luke called recently and told me that he's changed. He told me that he understands now that he can't raise April alone. He sincerely apologized for casting Rory and myself aside. He says he's ready for us all to be a family and he begged me to come home."

"Hummm" Lynnie said contemplatively. "It sounds like he's saying everything that you want to hear. How do you feel about that?"

"Well," Lorelai said with hesitation "You're right. It IS what I thought I wanted to hear. Honestly, I'm not sure that I believe him though. Part of me thinks that if I went back to Stars Hollow, thing will be exactly like they were. The thing that I'm most worried about is why I can't seem to stand up for myself - how I let myself be so passive and well - quite frankly - meek. I don't want to go back and just be a doormat again."

"It's odd that you see yourself as a doormat." Lynnie remarked.

"Why do you say that?" Lorelai questioned. "Isn't that what you call someone who never stands up for herself?"

"Yes." Lynnie answered. "That is what a doormat is. I just don't see you as one. I see you as a person who doesn't like confrontation. You put up with things until you hit you're breaking point. Doormats don't have breaking points - they just wear out. Once you hit your breaking point, you run away. Doormats can't run."

Lorelai couldn't mask the her hurt by the insult and asked "What do you mean...I run?"

Bluntly, Lynnie explained "You had Rory and lived with your parents. You couldn't stand their interference. Instead of having conversations about that, you took her and ran away. You were engaged to Max. You realized that there were going to do differences in the relationship or that heck, maybe you weren't in love with him. Instead of talking about it or breaking the engagement, you took off and ran away. You find out about Luke's secret daughter. You know things are totally off track when he won't let you see her. You don't say anything. You get to your breaking point, give him an ultimatum, it doesn't go your way - so you run away. Do you see the pattern?"

"Yeah" Lorelai said with defeat. "I see the pattern. Am I completely hopeless?"

"Of course NOT!" Lynnie reassured her. "There is a reason why you do what you do. You're afraid of something specific when you confront people. Only you really know what it is. I can take a few guesses. Take the situation with Rory and her father. You seem to just accept that he has floated in and out of her life at will. You never really expressed much anger at him for not being there. Maybe you thought if you told him what you REALLY think, that he'd completely disappear and Rory would never see him again. Maybe you thought any father was better than no father at all. Or - take the situation with Luke. You love Luke and wanted to marry him. Maybe you thought if you confronted him about April that he'd pick her over you - so you kept quiet so he wouldn't have the opportunity to reject you."

"Well, didn't I just prove my own theory right then by giving Luke an ultimatum? I confronted him and he chose his daughter over marrying me." she explained.

"Is that REALLY what happened, Lorelai? Or is that what you're telling yourself happened?" Lynnie asked.

"What do you mean?" Lorelai asked with confusion.

Lynnie explained "Well, after the ultimatum did Luke tell you that he was choosing his daughter and not you? Did he tell you it was over?"

"No." Lorelai sighed. "He said he needed time to think. He came to me the next day and asked me to elope. I told him it was too late."

"So, you see", Lynnie pointed out "You really DID get what you wanted. It just took a few more hours than you hoped. And those hours made you second guess a lot of other things. Instead of having THAT conversation with Luke, you just took off. Don't you see how nothing gets resolved when you run away? These things - these feelings - just hang there - sometimes simmering - sometimes boiling - and never get addressed. The key to resolving conflict is finding a way to end it. Pretending something didn't happen doesn't make it go away - EVER."

"So, what do I do?" Lorelai asked with desperation.

"You make a decision." Lynnie directed. "First, you decide if you want to try things again with Luke. If the answer is "no" - then you call him and explain to him why. If the answer is "yes" - then you vow to yourself right here and now that you are going to be honest with him. You are NOT going to let things fester. You are going to tell him when things are bothering you - not a month from now, not a week from now, not a day from now but IN THE MOMENT. You are NOT going to hide things from him. There are NO secrets."

"Do you think it will work?" Lorelai asked hopefully.

"Oh, I wish I could give you the answer you want to hear. I have no idea. All I can tell you is what you both need to do to give this relationship a fighting chance. If you're both honest with each other and committed to trying, you can make anything work out. But you both have to be on the same page." she explained.

"Right." Lorelai conceded. Sincerely, she added, "Lynnie, I really appreciate your time and your express counseling sessions with me."

"Anytime, Lorelai. Seriously, anytime I can help, please call me." she said earnestly.

She hung up the phone and turned on her laptop. She found herself browsing flights to Hartford. She hadn't planned on going home for Thanksgiving. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she remembered Luke saying he'd be waiting for her no matter how much time she took to figure things out. Maybe they could talk things out. Maybe she'd surprise him. Maybe everything would be okay.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She decided not to tell anyone she was coming home. She knew Rory had planned to spend Thanksgiving with the grandparents. Although she hadn't talked to Luke, she assumed that he'd be doing his usual day in the diner feeding all those who didn't have anywhere else to go. She'd fly in later in the day. Things would be slow at the diner. He'd close early and they'd have time to talk. That was her plan. She had it all figured out. Things were slowly falling into place. She had run the scenario over in her mind hundreds of times so far since she decided to go home. She knew what she was going to say. She knew what she was going to wear. She should have known better then to try and plan this out.

"Damn head cold!" she quipped as she walked through the pharmacy.

"What can you sell me for my ears? They are KILLING me." she sniffled to the pharmacist.

The pharmacist replied, "Well, a good antihistamine might help - unless you have an ear infection. In that case..."

"Oh, give me whatever you think. I have to get on a flight early this afternoon and I feel like I'm dying." Lorelai confessed.

"Oh, you are REALLY not going to want to fly with an ear infection. You might end up rupturing your ear drum. You really should go see a doctor and get your ears looked at before you fly." he insisted.

Lorelai said with exasperation, "You've got to be kidding me! It's Thanksgiving. I'm lucky you are even open. Who is going to look at my EARS? Do YOU want to look at them?"

"Ah, no." the pharmacist insisted. "May I suggest a quick trip to the emergency room? They have an urgent care section that deals with non emergency things like this. Of course, you can do what you want. I'm just letting you know that it's very painful to fly with an ear infection. It really will make it worse, if that's your problem."

"Oh Buddy, you have no idea what my problems are." Lorelai coughed.

She purchased the antihistamine, the decongestant, tissues, ear plugs - and left with directions to the hospital.

She told herself she'd only stay if they could PROMISE her that she could still make her flight.

"Mam, we can't promise you that you'll be out of urgent care at a particular time. This isn't McDonalds." the receptionist quipped at her.

Lorelai impatiently asked, "Well, can't you just stick that light in my ear and tell me if you think I'm okay to fly? It will take you one minute. There's really no one else here."

Just then, an office door opened and a woman called "Lorelai Gilmore"

"FINALLY!" Lorelai exclaimed as she walked towards the woman.

The woman in scrubs led her into a small exam room.

"So, what brings you here today, Miss Gilmore?" she asked with a chipper tone.

Lorelai rambled, "Right ear is killing me. Left ear isn't much better. I've got to catch a flight. Pharmacist told me not to fly with an ear infection. Need you to fix my ears so I can get home for Thanksgiving. It's VERY important. Have to leave for the airport in 53 minutes to make my flight."

Smiling the young woman remarked, "Wow! Well, you DO have a busy day planned. Let me see if Dr. Brant can get in here ASAP so we can get you on your way to your turkey dinner."

Five minutes later, a middle aged man knocked and came through the door.

"Hello, Miss Gilmore. I'm Dr. Brant." he said extending his hand. "I hear you're having some trouble with your ears today. Not a great way to be spending your Thanksgiving. When did this start?"

Lorelai thought to herself "OH MY GOD - why does this matter? Just LOOK IN MY EARS!" Instead she frantically replied "I got the cold about three days ago. My ears just started to hurt in the middle of the night. I REALLY need to fly home today so if you could just give me a shot or pop my ear or SOMETHING - that would be great."

Dr. Brant examined her left ear and said it was a little red. However, when he looked into the right one he said "Oh, this one is very inflamed. I can see why you are in so much pain. No flying for you today, Miss Gilmore, I'm afraid. You need to get on an antibiotic and let this resolve itself first."

"No WAY!" Lorelai thought to herself. "I'm going home today. This isn't going to stop me. I'll get the prescription and be on my way. No pain no gain."

Dr. Brant looked in Lorelai's throat and felt her glands.

He asked sincerely, "Is there anything else bothering you today, Miss Gilmore?"

"Just a throbbing ear, stuffy nose, sore throat and a pounding stress headache from being here." she answered honestly.

"We'll just do some quick blood work to check your white blood cell count. Do you have any medication allergies?"

"No." Lorelai answered with agitation. "Really, is blood work necessary? If you could just give me the antibiotic, I'll be on my way."

Dr. Brant shook his head and said "I told you no flying today, Miss Gilmore. No need to hurry now. A quick poke, we'll run your lab work and you'll be out of here in no time. I suggest resting for the remainder of the day. When you've had the antibiotics in your system for 24 hours, your ears should feel better. I'd still wait a few days before I'd advise flying. The head cold will make you miserable in flight."

The doctor took his blood sample and left Lorelai defeated in the exam room. She realized that she wasn't going anywhere today and felt really sad. She resolved that the rest of her day was going to be spent finding an empty hotel room, soaking in a tub and sleeping the holiday away.

Dr. Brant returned 30 minutes later. Lorelai had already started dozing off in the chair.

He smiled at Lorelai and said "Okay, I'm going to write you a prescription for amoxicillin to help with those ears. I was going to prescribe a different drug until I saw your lab work. It seems, Miss Gilmore, that you are very pregnant."

Silence. Shock. "What the HELL did he just say?" she thought.

"Did you hear what I said, Miss Gilmore? Your HCG count is quite high. When was your last menstrual period?"

Lorelai's mind was blank. Period? What period? Had she had one since she left Stars Hollow? She couldn't remember. She remembered that last night with Luke. They hadn't been careful. She just didn't care anymore. It was a bit primordial and reckless but, at that point, she was taking whatever he was giving her.

"Miss Gilmore?" Dr. Brant questioned gently. "I can see this news is surprising to you. Do you have any idea when your last period was?"

Lorelai tried to snap back to the here and now.

She shyly reflected, "I, um - I hadn't thought much about it. I've been out of town for months. That's why it was so important for me to get home today but - um - now...well, I haven't had my period in months...maybe three months?"

Dr. Brant asked "Have you noticed any symptoms? Have you had morning sickness?"

"No." Lorelai said with disbelief and worry. "When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was sick all the time. The first trimester I couldn't keep anything down. Do you think that means that something is wrong? I know I've gained some weight. I thought it was from all the fantastic food I've been eating while traveling. I never thought that I could be...pregnant. I never even considered it. I feel fine."

"How about we keep the kids in radiology busy on this holiday? Let's send you down for an ultrasound and take a peek." Dr. Brant suggested knowing his patient was full of worry.

"Yes. Definitely. That would be good." Lorelai said still with denial in her voice.

Twenty minutes later, Lorelai was draped with a sheet in the ultrasound exam room.

A middle aged woman introduced herself to Lorelai as Kathy. She would be performing the ultrasound. She explained "We're going to do an transvaginal ultrasound. It produces better images in an early pregnancy. Dr. Brant noted that you're not really sure how far along you are."

"I guess that sounds pretty dumb from someone over 16" Lorelai remarked.

"Oh, please!" Kathy reassured. "I do this many times a day for exactly this reason. These male doctors who expect us women to be walking around with a mental note etched in our brain of our last period are crazy!"

That made Lorelai laugh. She never was very good at keeping track of things - especially her periods.

The insertion of the transducer was uncomfortable and Kathy apologized and cracked a dirty sex joke to relax Lorelai.

She took lots of measurements and pictures during the procedure. Lorelai began to grow worried when Kathy wasn't saying anything about the baby.

"Does everything look okay?" she asked timidly.

"I'm just going to have Dr. Brant talk to you." Kathy said gently.

Lorelai's heart began to break.

Kathy could see it on her face. She'd seen it so many times. She hated that she wasn't supposed to give any information to the patient. That wasn't her job. Her job was to take the pictures and get the correct measurements. She wasn't supposed to say it but she couldn't help it. It was Thanksgiving. She leaned over and put her hand on Lorelai's shoulder. She whispered "All is good. Don't worry. Get dressed and Dr. Brant will meet with you back upstairs."

It seemed like forever until she was back in the exam room and Dr. Brant came back in.

Happily he said, "Good news, Miss Gilmore. It seems your HCG counts were high for a very good reason. Looks like you are about 14 weeks pregnant...with twins."

Lorelai thought to herself "I shouldn't be surprised, right? Twins? The dream. There's no way this is happening. There is no way that I'm FOURTEEN weeks pregnant with Luke's twins. NO WAY."

Dr. Brant wasn't sure she had heard what he said. She was white as a ghost and obviously distracted.

He handed her two things.

"A video of the ultrasound and a picture of your twins, Miss Gilmore. Makes it more real, now doesn't it?" he asked.

Lorelai sat stunned and silent. She stared at the twin images on paper.

"Is there someone I can call for you, Miss Gilmore?" Dr. Brant asked with concern.

"Call for me?" Lorelai repeated. "No. No, thank you, Dr. Brant. As I said, I'm from Connecticut. No family around here. I'll be fine. Just a bit shell shocked from the news. I heard what you said about not flying today - and I promise I won't. Is it really okay to take the amoxicillin? Are you sure it won't harm the babies?"

He reassured, "It's completely safe. I'm also giving you a prescription for prenatal vitamins. Start taking those today. Make sure you follow up with your OB/GYN when you get back home to Connecticut. Twins make this a higher risk pregnancy."

"I will." Lorelai sincerely promised. "Thank you so much for all you've done for me today."

"You're very welcome, Miss Gilmore. I'm sure you're going to have two beautiful babies." Dr. Brant replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

First, she went back to the pharmacy and filled her prescriptions. She was thankful the pharmacist she saw in the morning was gone. Although, truthfully, she owed him thanks. If he hadn't urged her to go to the hospital, it would have taken her even longer to learn about the babies. She never thought she'd be one of those women who show up at the hospital with stomach pains and then an hour later deliver a baby never having known they were pregnant. Now, she was practically one of them. Okay, she might be exaggerating a little bit.

It wasn't as hard as she thought to find an empty hotel room on Thanksgiving. "I guess more people spend time with family than I do" she chuckled.

The first thing she did when she got into the hotel room was strip naked. She ran in front of the full length mirror and started to study herself. There it was. Right in front of her. The unmistakable beginning of a baby bump. HOW had she not seen it before? HOW?

She needed to call SOMEONE. She had to tell SOMEONE. Rory? Sookie? Luke? She couldn't tell this to Luke over the phone. She had to SEE him. She wanted to SEE his face when she told him. Rory? She could call Rory and tell her. Then she remembered what Lynnie had said. She needed to be honest with Luke. No secrets. It would be wrong to tell Rory or Sookie first. Luke needed to know first - before everyone else.

She began to contemplate driving. "16 hours in a car doesn't seem THAT bad!" she reasoned. Then the throb in her ear and head began to remind her that maybe that wasn't the best idea. She had to think of the babies. She surely needed rest and they did too.

She decided she needed to wait it out. It was the right thing to do. It was the grown up thing to do. It was the HARDEST thing to do. She needed Luke and she needed him now.


	7. Chapter 7

Rory entered the empty Crap Shack and sighed. This had officially been the worst Thanksgiving EVER. She and her mom had never spent the holiday apart. They had their traditions - the Korean celebration with Lane's family - enjoying Sookie's special, frosted, turkey shaped, sugar cookies - and then ending the day at Luke's, stuffing themselves with the most delicious "home cooked" holiday meal they could imagine. All this disappointment, on top of dinner with the grandparents and their stuffy friends, had left her exhausted.

She went into the bathroom and scrubbed her peaches and cream complexion clean. She changed into her pink flannel Hello Kitty pajamas with her thickest comfy socks. Frowning when she opened the refrigerator, she grabbed the only thing in there - a bottle of water - and slumped down onto the couch. She slowly rested her head back and closed her eyes. She was startled by a sudden knock at the door.

"Well, it didn't take Babette TOO long to notice that the lights are on." she said to herself.

She plastered on her best fake smile before she flung open the door.

Needless to say she was surprised by what she saw.

"Jess!" she happily exclaimed.

He gave her a slow smile and replied softly "Hey, I hope it's okay that I stopped by. I didn't know anyone was here. Luke was going to come by and check on the house - because he doesn't believe that Morey and Babette do it often enough - so I volunteered to go for a walk and do it for him. And then...I noticed the light on."

"Of course it's okay!" she insisted. "Oh my gosh, come in. It's SO great to see you!"

As he walked in, he was taken aback when she suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around him. It took him just an extra second to hug her back just as tightly.

"Come. Sit. What are you doing in Stars Hollow?" she asked with curiosity.

Jess laughed and said with a big of sarcasm "You must not be from these parts, pilgrim. Here, we have a tradition called Thanksgiving. It's a big meal - usually with family. I came for that."

Rory rolled her eyes.

"Of course. You came to see Luke." she said with embarrassment.

Jess looked around the house with concern and asked "You didn't spend the day here alone. Did you?"

She shook her head and said "No, might as well have though. I was with the grandparents."

"Ahhhhh...Thanksgiving in Hartford. How did that go?" Jess asked.

He could see the disappointment on her face when she answered "It was okay. You know, they tried. They knew I was upset that my mom wasn't here. I think they were even a bit disappointed too - although they'd never admit it."

Jess' eyes crinkled a bit when has asked "Well, did you at least get to talk to your Mom today?"

Rory shook her head no and said with a bit of disbelief "No. That's the weird thing. I called her and there was no answer. She called back when we were having dinner and left me a voice mail. She said that she had a cold or an ear infection or something, that she was completely miserable and that she was heading to bed. She told me that she hoped I had a good day and she'd touch base with me TOMORROW. I mean, who does that? Who doesn't want to talk to their kid on THANKSGIVING? Heck, who doesn't want to BE with their kid on THANKSGIVING?"

Jess chuckled and said "Hey, Einstein, are you forgetting who you're talking to?"

Rory felt horrible when she realized what she'd just said. Jess had spent a lot of holidays by himself. He had confided in her about the times that Liz was so strung out on drugs that she just left him all alone. She couldn't believe he had survived it so unscathed.

"Oh, I'm SO sorry, Jess. I wasn't thinking about what I was saying. I was just feeling sorry for myself." she apologized sincerely.

"Don't be sorry." he replied softly. "I was just pointing out that I know what it feels like to feel alone on holidays. It's hard...it's really hard. I'm sorry that your day wasn't great."

He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She responded with a small sweet smile.

"I know this might sound crazy," Rory confided, "but I feel like she's avoiding me - purposely - like she's trying NOT to talk to me."

"What?" Jess said with complete doubt. "I don't think so. Why would she avoid talking to YOU?"

Rory shrugged. "I don't know. Like I said, I'm probably just being sensitive today. Just seems like she'd want me to call her back on Thanksgiving, of all days, so we could talk. I guess she might be too sick and just wants to sleep."

"I'm SURE that's it." Jess said reassuringly.

Rory brushed her hair back and for the first time took a look at herself. She completely forgot that she was in her Hello Kitty pajamas looking like a 12 year old. She cringed a bit.

Jess caught her staring at her flannels.

"I think they're cute. They're certainly you." he said softly.

Rory rolled her eyes and said "Yeah, it's just not the outfit you want to be caught in when you run into an ex-boyfriend."

Jess tried to not let the word "ex-boyfriend" sting but it still had a bit of a bite.

"You look beautiful." he rasped quietly.

There were silence for a moment. Rory began to nervously fill it. "So...Luke has been watching the house?"

"I guess." Jess nodded. "It's probably his way of staying connected. Although, I'm sure, he's genuinely concerned about a pipe bursting or the ceiling collapsing or a some other unknown disaster."

Rory smiled.

Jess continued, "I know he misses your mom like crazy. Babette confided in me today that sometimes she sees him just sitting on your porch for hours. He must be contemplating all the ways that he's screwed this up."

Rory couldn't help but wonder if Jess was thinking about more than just the relationship between Luke and her mom.

"Well, it takes two." Rory added truthfully. "He didn't mess this up on his own. Lorelai Gilmore is quite a force to be reckoned with."

Jess laughed and said "Yes, BOTH Lorelai Gilmores are forces to be reckoned with!"

"Hey, that wasn't nice!" Rory quipped as she lightly smacked his shoulder. "I gave you some of the best years of my life!"

With a hint of sadness Jess responded "They certainly were some of the best of mine."

Light tension wafted through the air.

Doing a 180, Rory shyly asked, "Hey, can you stay for a while? Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

Jess was torn. He wanted to stay because he missed her and wanted to be with her. But, on the other hand, he didn't want to stay because the way that he missed her and the way that he wanted her didn't seem to be the same for her.

Rory noticed Jess' hesitation.

She quickly interjected, "Oh, I understand, if you're busy. You were just out for a walk. You probably have something else going on - other plans...I get it."

He could sense her feelings of rejection and felt the need to reassure her.

Insistently he replied, "No, no. I don't have other plans. Where would I be going at 10:30 pm in Stars Hollow? Doose's is already closed - can't catch up with Taylor now. I just need to shoot Luke a text. He probably thinks I got lost."

Rory apologized for forgetting, "Luke. Oh geez, Jess, you're here to visit him. You should go back. You guys don't get to spend much time together."

He reassured her, "We see enough of each other. You can imagine with two chatter boxes like ourselves how long it takes us to catch up. Besides, as soon as he hears that you're here alone on Thanksgiving, I'll have to stop him from showing up on your doorstep with a turkey dinner and a whole apple pie."

Jess crafted a simple text that read "With Rory. House is still standing. Pierpont is standing guard." - and pressed send.

"Hey Jess?" Rory asked.

"Yeah." he said.

"Does Luke even KNOW what a text message is? I mean, you think he'll even think to LOOK at his phone?" she asked with slight concern.

Jess winked and called Luke's apartment.

"Hello." a deep voice answered.

"Hey, it's me." Jess casually replied.

"Where the hell are you? Did you fall in the lake again? Swan get you?" Luke joked.

Jess didn't quite appreciate the joke as much as his uncle. He explained, "Ah, no. I'm with Rory. I'm going to hang out here for a while."

"Rory's home?" Luke asked with surprise.

Jess affirmed, "Yeah, she spent the day with her grandparents. She got here right before me."

Concerned Luke asked, "Why didn't she come by the diner? Is she hungry? Want me to bring over some leftovers?"

Jess smiled and pointed at Rory when he replied "No, that's okay. The grandparents fed her."

Rory chuckled. It was just like Luke to want to feed her.

"Well, if she's going to be around tomorrow, tell her to come by. I've got a pie with her name on it." he urged.

"I'll definitely tell her." Jess assured before he hung up the phone.

Rory scanned the vast movie collection and asked "Casablanca?"

"Sure." he answered agreeably.

Jess settled into a comfortable position at the end of the couch. Rory instinctively sat beside him and covered them both with a fluffy throw blanket. An hour into the movie, she was snuggled into his side with his arm wrapped around her. Neither one of them knew what this was but neither one seemed to care, in the moment. Rory just knew that she hadn't felt this relaxed and peaceful in forever. Jess never imagined that his night would end with her in his arms. He silently drank in her beauty and savored every precious moment.


	8. Chapter 8

Morning light began to gradually filter into the Crap Shack's living room. Rory slowly opened her eyes and found herself, on the couch, being spooned by Jess' muscular body. His left arm was protectively draped around her small frame. The warmth of his body completely enveloped her. She let her mind wander to places her body had never been with him. "Stop!" she said to herself. What was she thinking? She had to get up NOW. Carefully, she lifted up his dead weight arm, pushed it gently behind her and then slipped quickly from his embrace. The absence of her warmth caused him to stir.

"Hey." he said sleepily.

"Morning." she responded with a smile.

He extended his arm out to her and she took hold of his hand. He pulled her gently back onto the couch.

"Jess." she scolded softly.

"You sneaking away to cook me breakfast?" he joked with a rasp.

"Only if you're on a liquid diet. The only thing left in this house is coffee." she explained.

Jess scratched his head and offered, "I know this place we can go. Excellent coffee. The owner's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder but if you can get past that - I think you'll love it."

Rory laughed and asked "Might you be related to this chip on the shoulder owner?"

"Might be." he hinted.

"Sure." she answered warmly. "Let me just hop in the shower and then I'll be ready to go."

"Take you time." Jess said as he effortlessly closed his eyes again.

Five minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

Hearing the water still running, Jess got up and opened it. He wasn't surprised to see Babette at the door.

"Jess!" the older woman said with surprise. "I - um - Morey and I noticed Rory's car here and wanted to make sure she's alright."

"She's fine." Jess answered smoothly. He continued with a yawn, "Rory just hopped into the shower. Anything I can pass along to her?"

"Uh - no" Babette answered as she tried to peek around Jess' taut body. Slyly, she asked, "You been here all night, Jess?"

Cockily he answered, "A gentlemen never tells." and gave Babette a wink.

Suddenly, Babette seemed to be in a big hurry.

"Well...I've got to get going. Tell Rory I'll check back with her later. I mean I'LL be back later, Jess." she warned.

Jess yelled after her "Tell Miss Patty I said "Hi" when you talk to her."

Chuckling Jess closed the door.

"Hey, was someone at the door?" Rory yelled down from the bathroom.

"Just Babette. I think it's safe to say that she's on her way to the diner to let EVERYONE know that I spent the night here with you." Jess explained.

"Jess," Rory self consciously asked, "Did you tell her that? Did you explain to her that nothing happened?"

"Ah, I'm not really into sharing details of my personal life with Babette, Morey AND Miss Patty." he stated sarcastically.

Rory rolled her eyes at him when she got to the bottom of the stairs.

Curiously, she asked, "Did you imply to Babette that something happened here last night? I know how you like to get a rise out of the people in Stars Hollow."

"Not exactly...but let's just say I didn't deny anything." Jess said truthfully. Adding softly, "Besides, would it have been so bad if something had happened?"

Rory's eyes diverted from him to the blank wall and then back to him.

"No. I don't know - maybe. I don't know." she answered with confusion as she walked into the kitchen.

By walking away, Rory missed the surprised look etched over Jess' face. He felt opportunity could be knocking and followed it into the kitchen.

Rory's heartbeat quickened as he approached. Her back was firmly against the counter and there was no place else for her to go. Even if there were, she wasn't moving. Jess got within inches of her and stopped.

He stared into her baby blue eyes for a just a moment before he rasped "I just want to make sure there's no misunderstanding here about what I want."

Jess' hand began to softly glide over Rory's soft cheek. He leaned in slowly and brought his eager lips to hers. The connection when they met was electric. What started off as a sweet kiss with a hint of longing quickly turned into a lustful kiss with a sense of urgency. He pulled her in close and ran his strong hands along the small of her back. Shivers ran up her spine. Her fingers tangled into his mass of thick dark hair. Only a need for air made them reluctantly pull apart.

Breathlessly, Rory whispered, "I think you made your intention perfectly clear."

Jess waited a moment for a further comment from her but all he got was silence.

He asked "And?"

She still remained silent with her eyes pointed to the linoleum floor beneath her.

Hesitantly she answered, "I don't know about this - about us - Jess."

This was the closest he had been to her in years. He wasn't going to let the small window she had opened for them slam shut on him again.

"Tell me why you're not sure." Jess said directly.

"Really?" Rory said with a bit of incredulousness.

"Yeah." Jess said emphatically. "Explain it to me."

That riled Rory up a bit. She couldn't believe that he couldn't see all the potential problems for them that were as obvious as Taylor's shoddy toupee.

Bluntly she said "When things get tough, you leave. You've done it to me over and over again. You just run away - no goodbyes - no explanations - you just take off. It's like dealing with my dad. I would never choose to be in a long term relationship like that. I'm never going to have kids with a man like that. You and I both know what it's like to have a parent leave on you. It's SO hard. I will NOT pick that kind of man to spend the rest of my life with. Knowing that, I have a hard time believing that this could ever work between us, Jess."

"But you love me." Jess offered with hope.

Rory stared at him, swallowed hard and said truthfully, "Of course I love you, Jess. I think I'm always going to love you. That's why this hurts so much."

"What if I told you that I've changed? I'm different now. I'm not the same person who used to just walk away." Jess suggested.

"I'd say that I don't believe you" Rory replied with honesty. "I'd say that actions speak louder than words and your actions have spoken loud and clear. I'd tell you that I've heard it all before from my father. I've heard the speeches about "this time will be different" and "I've changed." countless times. I've seen the way my mom has suffered because of my dad and I certainly know that I've suffered."

Jess nodded while he contemplated what Rory had just said.

"So, I need to prove to you that I'm different?" Jess questioned.

With sadness Rory replied, "The only way you can prove that is if we give this another go. I don't think I'm up for it, Jess. I just got back to school. Things with mom are a mess. If we start something again now - when it falls apart - I'm not going to be able to handle it."

Jess reiterated, "You said "when it falls apart" as if you just assume it won't work. What if things ARE different and it CAN work? Aren't we worth the gamble?"

"You know," Rory confided with a beaten tone, "You only really know the high school Rory. She had things together a bit better than college Rory. College Rory is a certified hot mess. Do you know that I'm a convicted felon? I stole a boat, Jess! When I went to therapy, at Yale, the counselor suggested that I meet with him three times a week because I'm such a disaster. Does that sound like someone who would handle a break up well?"

He had heard that things had been tough for her. He really didn't want to add to her problems. Honestly, he was a little concerned about her stability once she laid it all out.

"So, are you saying "no" to us forever or "no" to us right now?" Jess questioned nervously.

"I don't know." Rory shrugged.

Jess thought to himself "Well, at least she didn't say forever."

"Are you saying you need time?" Jess prodded.

"I don't know." Rory answered truthfully. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, Jess. I mean last night was wonderful. When I woke up in your arms, it was the nicest, most warmest, feeling and I started to think and wonder what it would be like to have that...to have you...all the time. But, then I got scared because I thought "Just when I get it, something will happen and he'll be gone again and I'll be all alone." I might not have shown it to the world, but I was DEVASTATED when you left the second time. I kept it in. I pretended that it didn't bother me. I pretended to just accept it. But it KILLED me Jess. That's why I could never have said "yes" to you when you showed up at Yale and asked me to take off with you. There was no way I was going through that again."

Playing devil's advocate, Jess asked, "So, you're saying that time won't help?"

Rory had tears in her eyes when she explained "Up until last night, I had completely closed the book on us being a couple. I thought maybe we could be friends...If mom and Luke ever worked things out, we could be cordial to each other on holidays and stuff. But then you were so great to me on the phone after my mom left. I thought maybe we could be real friends - you know, ones that confide in each other. But then when I saw you last night, everything felt different. You were here for me. You were so comforting - and funny - and sexy as hell. And I started to think that this - you - were what I needed. But then those damn doubts, fears and anxieties started creeping in and I can't get them to go away."

Everything she said made sense. He had given her no reason to trust him. He couldn't walk back in and say "Trust me. I'm different" and expect her to believe him. He needed to show her. It was going to have to be with friendship, for now. There was no other way.

"Okay." he said with sincerity. "Let's try the friend thing. I want you in my life, Rory Gilmore, and if that means friendship than friendship it is."

Rory revealed, "This is going to be hard, Jess."

He gave her a questioning look.

She continued, "I mean - that kiss - it was AMAZING. How do I just forget that and be your friend?"

Now she was killing him. All he wanted to do was drag her into her bedroom and show her all the ways he could be there for her.

Instead, Jess sexily rasped, "I didn't say friends forever. I said friends for now. I'm willing to change the terms of our agreement anytime you think you're ready for more."

She smiled nervously at him wondering how long she could hold off asking for more.


	9. Chapter 9

Lorelai spent the rest of Thanksgiving comatose in her comfy, hotel room, bed. Before she drifted off to sleep, she managed to leave Rory a voicemail wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving. She purposely called when she knew her parents would be serving dinner. She didn't want to risk talking to Rory and letting the cat out of the bag about the twins.

She was going absolutely INSANE keeping this secret. She alternated between staring at the grainy ultrasound pictures and watching the incredible DVD of the babies. It was the only thing keeping her from believing that this was all just an amazing dream. Her hands were constantly rubbing the newly found bump that graced her lower belly. She didn't know, for sure, how Luke was going to react - but she was completely and totally over the moon happy about having Luke's babies. She knew nothing could change that.

On Friday, she made an uncomfortable call to Mike Armstrong. Lorelai hated to go back on her word. She had promised him six months of consulting but knew she couldn't fulfill her commitment. She also didn't want to reveal the true reason she had to back out. Her father was the one who connected her to Mike Armstrong. All she needed was this news getting back to her parents before she had a chance to tell them. She also didn't want to make up a lie about Rory or The Dragonfly to get out of it - again because if it got back to her parents - they'd be very worried. She settled on using the excuse that she found the Armstrong group's approach to business to be a bit too cut throat for her liking. She told him that she was bothered that employees were being let go and visitors weren't being informed about ownership changes. It did make her sound like a goody-goody but there were some grains of truth in what she said. Mike said he was disappointed that they wouldn't be working together anymore but he respected her values and candor.

By Saturday, she was feeling much better. The ache was gone in her head and ears. She HAD to get home. She called the airline and booked herself on a 1 pm flight into Hartford. She found herself smiling from ear to ear whenever she thought about the twins and Luke. She was unsure if she was letting the joy of the babies cloud her judgement about her relationship with Luke. She knew there were still many problems that needed to be worked out - but then she'd picture Luke holding two bundles in flannel - either flannel shirts or flannel dresses - and her heart would soar.

She landed in Hartford at 4:30 pm. After gathering her luggage, she hailed a cab. The only problem was that she didn't know where to go. Go to Luke's? He'd be busy with the dinner crowd. Go home? Rory might be there and she knew she didn't have much self control in what she might blurt out. She called Rory's cell to see if the house was empty.

Rory picked up on the second ring - as soon as she saw the call was from her mother.

"Hey, Mom!" Rory said cheerfully.

Lorelai returned the happiness with "Hey, kid! What are you up to?"

Rory didn't feel like getting into the whole Jess thing. She didn't want to tell her mother that she getting ready to meet him for dinner. She decided to go with the vague approach.

She hedged "Oh, I'm getting ready to go out to dinner with a friend."

"Who are you meeting?" Lorelai asked with curiosity.

Rory tried the distraction technique next.

"Oh, ah - Hey, you missed a great dinner at Grandma's for Thanksgiving. I was so disappointed that we didn't get to talk that day. Are you feeling better? You sound better!" she said enthusiastically.

Lorelai immediately noticed that Rory had dodged her question.

Letting it go, she responded, "Yeah, I'm feeling much better, Sweets. Thanks for asking. Are you in Stars Hollow now or back at the dorm?"

"I'm at the house." Rory replied nonchalantly.

"You heading back to Yale tonight?" Lorelai asked slyly hoping that she wasn't looking too suspicious.

She said warmly, "Ah, I'm not sure. It's been nice being back in Stars Hollow...back in the house. I might want to spend one more night here."

Lorelai wanted to figure out how much time she'd have before Rory returned.

"Where you going to dinner?" Lorelai tried to ask casually.

"Somewhere in Bridgeport. Need to be there for 6:30 pm." Rory said as she applied the last touches of make up to her porcelain face.

"Bridgeport is an hour away - each way - I've got plenty of time." Lorelai thought to herself.

"Well, I don't want to keep you, Rory. I know you need to get going. Hope you have a great time tonight." Lorelai said with a hurried tone.

Concerned, Rory asked, "Mom, are you trying to ditch me? I CAN keep talking to you while I'm getting ready. And I've got at least another 10 minutes. I want to hear everything that you've been up to. It seems like forever since we've had a real conversation!"

Lorelai felt bad doing this but she was running out of options.

Faking confusion, Lorelai asked, "Hello? Hello? Rory? I can't hear you. Rory, are you there?"

"Mom, I can hear you fine. Is this better now? Can you hear me now?" Rory responded as she walked into a different part of their house.

Lorelai immediately hung up the phone.

"God, is SO going to punish me!" she thought to herself.

Rory considered calling her mother back for a brief nanosecond. However, she really didn't have time for a long talk and she didn't want to have to lie more about Jess. There was no reason for her mom to know about her hanging out with him for the past three days. It was just friendship, nothing more...for now. If it ever turned into something more, THEN she would tell her.

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The cab pulled into the bumpy Crap Shack's driveway. It was past sunset so she immediately looked for Babette and Morey's faces to be plastered to their windows. Luckily, their house was dark. She asked the cab driver for help her with her bags - something she'd never usually do. She didn't think the twins would appreciate her doing the heavy lifting of six months worth of her clothing. He happily obliged and she tipped accordingly.

A warm feeling hit her as she swung open the old door to the house. It was toasty inside. She reminded herself to tell Rory that oil is not cheap - but she was also thankful that she wasn't walking into an ice house. It seemed like she had been gone forever. She ran her hand over the back of the worn couch and spent a moment looking around at her familiar surroundings.

Taking a deep breath, she told herself "It's time."

She picked up her house phone and dialed the number that had been etched in her brain.

His voice deep, he answered, "Luke's."

She froze. She paused - "Maybe a pregnant pause." she thought.

"Luke's." he said again with a hint of annoyance.

"Breathe" she told herself."

She took a deep breath and said shakily, "Hey, it's me."

He'd know her voice anywhere.

"Lorelai." he said in surprised voice.

His mind immediately went to troubling scenarios.

"Is everything okay?" he asked with concern.

She smiled and rubbed her belly.

"Oh yeah - everything is great. I'm actually...I'm...I'm home." she hesitantly revealed.

"You're home?" he questioned with disbelief. "I thought you had months of consulting left. Is this just a visit?"

She knew she couldn't explain this over the phone. "Be direct, Lorelai." she coached herself.

Nervously, she asked, "Yeah...hey, do you think we could get together later? Could you come over?"

Luke was baffled yet hopeful.

Not wanting to sound TOO anxious, he calmly replied, "Ah, yeah, I can be there in about an hour. I just have to get Caesar or Zack to come in."

Relieved, Lorelai responded warmly, "Okay. I guess I'll see you in an hour."

"Okay - an hour" Luke repeated softly before hanging up the phone.

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Luke went up to his apartment to shower and change. His nerves were getting the best of him. He tried to tell himself that this wasn't a make or break moment for them, as a couple, but his racing heart was telling him otherwise. He decided to walk to her house to burn off some of his nervous energy.

Lorelai scurried upstairs to forage through her closet. She needed to find something oversized immediately. She was barely showing in regular clothes but anything too tight might give the baby news away too soon. She needed to make it clear to Luke that she had planned to come back to him BEFORE she found out about the twins. She settled on her long, bulky, chestnut, sweater with black leggings underneath. The emerging baby bulge was pretty obvious when she raised up her sweater.

Precisely an hour later, there was a knock on her door.

"Hey," she said smiling as she opened the door.

Luke was awe struck. She was SO beautiful - just like the first time he laid eyes on her.

"Hey" he said softly back to her. He was as handsome as ever. She couldn't help but think "We are going to have some gorgeous babies!"

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She in turn pulled in her stomach and made sure that he only came in contact with her face. He noticed her lack of affection immediately.

"Oh," he apologized, "I'm sorry if that was out of line."

She could see the hurt written all over his face.

"No!" she said emphatically and rambled, "The kiss is good. I've been to France. A kiss is a hello there. I just - um - I'm just getting over a cold and wouldn't want you to catch it."

He could tell she was lying by the way she refused to meet his eyes. "Bad sign" he told himself.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked.

He laughed and replied "You never had anything to drink in this house when you lived here. Now you've been away months and your offering me a drink? I'm scared about what you're going to offer me."

She laughed too as she walked into the kitchen.

She called to him "Well, Rory has been here for a couple of days. Maybe she restocked. Ah - we've got water and...that's about it."

"Water is good." Luke replied.

She came back into the living room and handed off one bottle to him. She gestured for him to take a seat on the couch. She sat at the opposite end.

"Another bad sign" he told himself when he noticed how far away she chose to sit from him.

"So..." he started hesitantly, "Is this just a visit?"

She shook her head no and answered emphatically, "No. I'm home for good."

Whether they were together or apart, she knew these babies were going to be raised in Stars Hollow with their mom and dad.

He felt a rush of relief wash over him.

Curiously, he asked the obvious follow up question, "How come? What happened?"

"You knocked me up." she said inside her head. She knew that was the wrong approach but silently giggled.

Refocusing, she said, "Well... a lot of different reasons. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay." he responded, waiting for her to continue.

She nervously picked up a piece of paper from the coffee table and handed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked with confusion.

"It's my cancelled plane ticket from Thanksgiving." she answered directly.

Luke shrugged and replied "I don't understand..."

Exhaling deeply, she said "I know. I'm going to explain."

"Okay." Luke said again with a bit of bewilderment.

Matter of factly, she stated, "I had planned to come home for Thanksgiving. I mean, I had planned to come home to YOU on Thanksgiving. You told me that I could take all the time I needed to figure things out. I think I had things sorted out well enough - but I ended up getting sick and couldn't fly."

He eyed her with concern and asked "Are you okay now?"

Easing his worry, she quickly replied "Oh yeah, I'm fine. It was just an ear infection - but the doctor told me that I couldn't fly until I had the antibiotic in me and was feeling better.

He nodded and placed the airline ticket back onto the coffee table.

Honestly, she said "I wanted to come home on Thanksgiving to see if we could work things out. Unfortunately, I got a bit derailed."

A small smile crept across his face.

Lorelai offered nervously, "So, I was hoping we could have that Thanksgiving conversation now. I've figured out some things - about me -and I'd like to explain them to you."

"I'd like to hear it." Luke replied with curiosity.

She thought for a moment and blurted out, "I'm REALLY terrible at relationships."

"Lorelai" Luke interrupted. "You are NOT terrible..."

She stopped him and admonished, "Luke, you said you wanted to hear what I had to say - so let me talk, please."

He nodded and added a soft "Sorry."

"Like I was saying, I'm terrible at relationships. Not in all ways - but it's really hard for me to tell people when I'm upset with them or upset with a situation. I was never allowed to do that as a kid. Whatever Richard and Emily Gilmore said was law. There was no arguing with them. There was no point. That's what made me take off with Rory - because they wouldn't let me have an opinion on how to raise my daughter." she explained.

Luke listened intently.

She continued, "I've realized now, though, that I do that with everyone - not just my parents. There are so many examples but...I was never confrontational with Christopher about abandoning Rory - or with Max about the demise of our relationship - or with you about April and our wedding postponement. I just sort of sat and stewed. When it got to be too much, I either exploded or ignored - and then I ran away."

Luke was surprised with her introspection - mainly because it was dead on.

He remained quiet knowing she wasn't done yet.

Apologetically, she said, "I'm REALLY sorry that I gave you that ultimatum. I know that you were completely blind-sided because I hadn't told you how I'd really been feeling. You had no idea that I had reached my breaking point. And, I didn't give you much time to process the infamous ultimatum. I said elope - you didn't jump - so I took off. I know that if our relationship is going to have any chance of working, I need to be honest with you, in the moment, and not keep things inside my head...which, by the way, Mister, is going to lead to A LOT more talking from me."

She smiled.

He sarcastically responded "God, help me." and returned her smile.

"So," she continued, "if I'm going to try and be honest with you, I need to tell you some things."

"Okay." he replied - ready for this long put off discussion.

Her voice cracked a bit when she said, "First of all, I was really hurt that you didn't tell me about April right way. The fact that you hid her from me really made me second guess our relationship. I mean "YOU have a daughter!"...that is HUGE news - probably the biggest and best thing that ever happened to you - and you didn't tell me, Luke. I need to know why."

He looked into her watery eyes and tried to explain, "Rory had just come back. You were happy for the first time in months. You had the wedding all planned out. You were SO excited. I didn't want to ruin that for you."

"Well," she asked with a slight annoyance, "that explains the first week that you knew about her...but what about the seven weeks that followed that?"

He thought for a moment before he said truthfully, "I think I knew, pretty soon after April arrived, that I couldn't go through with the wedding. I was overwhelmed - partly because I didn't confide in you about April - but also because I felt so guilty about not being there for her for the first 12 years of her life. I know this is going to sound misplaced and crazy...but...I felt like I owed her my time and that I couldn't give it to her if I was getting married to you and starting our new life together. So, I think, I didn't tell you because I knew I was going to end up hurting you."

Lorelai rubbed her temples. His answer didn't completely satisfy her.

She dug a little deeper and asked with offense, "Why did you keep April away from me? I really need to know why you didn't want me around your daughter."

Luke put his head down and stared at the floor as he collected his thoughts.

He asked contemplatively, "Do you remember that feeling, when you're a kid, and you get a new toy? You are SO excited and not really wanting to share."

Lorelai nodded and responded agreeably, "Sure."

"It started out kind of like that. Here was this little person who is half of me and I had missed ALL those years with her - and I just wanted some time with her to myself. It's like I thought that I could magically catch up on 12 years of her life if I just did some serious one on one time with her. I know it sounds COMPLETELY crazy - but that's how my mind was working, at the time."

"It's not crazy." Lorelai said softly.

"But, there's more...and it really makes me feel like a complete ass." Luke continued with humiliation. "I was jealous of you. Everyone likes you. April didn't know me - and most people don't like me. And, I thought...I thought if she met you - she'd focus on you and how fun you are and I'd be kind of pushed aside. You know, people take one look at Rory and KNOW that you're a great mom. They take one look at April and think "That kid's mother would rather raise her alone than for her to have me as her father."

Right there, Lorelai's heart broke for him. She scooted closer to him on the couch and took hold of his warm hand.

"Luke," Lorelai insisted. "What Anna did was WRONG. I can't even begin to crawl inside her head and figure out what the hell she was thinking. You are the most loyal person that I know. If you had known about April, you would have been an incredible father to her for those first 12 years. I know that and everyone in this town knows that. You say that you think people dislike you, but that's just not true. People in this town would be there for you in a heartbeat."

He was never one to take a compliment well. He felt self conscious in the moment. His fingers began tracing small circles on the back of her soft hand. He stared at the ground.

"I'm really ashamed." he confessed sadly.

"About what?" Lorelai asked.

"About how I treated you and Rory." he revealed. "I want to explain to you what I was thinking - but I'm afraid it's going to make you think less of me."

"Luke, right now all I care about is the truth." she said sincerely.

"Okay." he replied with slight hesitation. "I was really happy when I found out about April...because...it was someone that was actually connected to me - a part of me. I lost my mom in my teens and my dad in my twenties - and Liz was already gone by the time my dad died...and then Jess floated in and mostly out of my life. See, April didn't mean more to me than you are Rory - but she was a part of me in a way...in a way that you two aren't. God, that sounds SO AWFUL when I say it out loud. I love you and Rory and..."

Lorelai had tears in her eyes when she cut him off with "It's okay, Luke. I understand. The first time that I held Rory, in my arms, I couldn't believe that this little bundle was half of me. Even now, when I think I'm about it - I'm simply amazed. And, I forget how much you've been through - partly because you don't really talk about it and party because I'm totally self centered. Of COURSE, you would feel that way about April - that's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm not upset about it."

"You know," he said swallowing hard. "Sometimes, I just look at her and I'll see my mom's smile in her or a laugh that kind of sounds like my dad's...and it makes me realize even more how much I miss them...and how grateful I am to have her."

Tears rolled down Lorelai's cheeks. It was rare for Luke to open up. It made her realize how vulnerable he was and how much loss he had suffered so early in life. And the fact that he's had to listen to her complain endlessly about her own parents - when he'd probably give his left arm to have one more day with his..."Could she have been any more insensitive?" she wondered.

He reached over and gently brushed the tears from her cheeks. She gently laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm SO sorry." she whispered. "I should have told you what I was feeling. I promise that I'm going to try and do that from now on...if you'll have me."

He softly nudged her from his shoulder to get her to look at him.

Emphatically, he stated,"Lorelai, I'm the one who should be sorry. I've put you through so much this past year. I'm not sure how you will ever be able to forgive me. And - I can't believe you'd even have to ask if I'd have you. I told you that I'd wait for you for as long as it took. I love you. And I promise you that we're going to be a family...you, me, Rory and April...from now on."

Now his eyes were glassy too.

She went up on her knees and threw her arms around him tightly while she buried her face in his shoulder. She still kept her lower torso arched away from him. He wrapped his strong arms around her but thought odd of her strange pose.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh my God, he KNOWS something!" she screamed to herself.

His eyes narrowed a bit when he replied, "It just seems like...like you don't want me to touch you."

"Okay, show time!" she excitedly told herself.

She reassured him, "Don't be silly. I'm fine. Hey, do you want to watch a movie?"

Now THIS he found odd.

"Ah, no - not really." he replied truthfully.

"Oh, come on, Luke!" she whined. "This movie idea was conceived in Stars Hollow and filmed abroad. I REALLY want you to see it. PLEASE!"

"Oh God!" he began ranting. "Is this the movie that Taylor was having made about the bridge? The same bridge that we try and replace EVERY year? No, no way - I'm NOT watching a movie about a stupid bridge!"

"No, Luke! It's not about the stupid bridge! Will you just watch it with me, please? It's really short, I promise. I brought it back with me." she said in her best syrupy sweet voice.

Luke surrendered with, "Okay, whatever. I'll watch the stupid movie. But I've got to tell you that it's really the LAST thing I want to be doing with you right now."

Lorelai quickly jumped up, grabbed the DVD from her carry on bag and popped it into the DVD player.

Luke was totally confused when the DVD started to play. The first thing he noticed was the date along the bottom of the screen. It was dated for Thanksgiving. The words on the screen read "Property of Greenville Memorial Hospital." And, the rest, made no sense it all. It was just a mash up of black and white patches and swirls across the screen with "Lorelai Gilmore" typed across the bottom.

He looked at her completely bewildered and shrugged.

She softly explained with a growing smile, "This movie takes place inside my uterus and it stars Baby Danes 1 and Baby Danes 2."

His eyes began to grow wider as they frantically darted between Lorelai's glowing face and the ultrasound DVD.

Totally shocked, he stumbled over the words "You're pregnant? We're...we're pregnant?...Two? There are two? TWINS? Like your dream?...But how?...WHEN?"

She reached over and took hold of both of his hands to calm him.

She explained slowly "Luke, I'm 14 1/2 weeks pregnant with our twins. I found out when I went to the hospital for the ear infection. I had NO IDEA. With Rory, I was SO sick. I couldn't keep anything down. But I haven't been sick at all this time. I thought I was just getting fat from all the eating I've been doing. I want you to understand that I was coming back to you BEFORE I found out about the babies...that's why I showed you the plane ticket as soon as you got here."

He was having trouble processing the surprising news she had just told him.

She stood up and moved in front of him. She took hold of his hands and brought them up slowly along her abdomen. The baby bump was unmistakable on her usually svelte figure. His hands gently pushed her sweater above her stomach. His paralyzing stare was fixated on her slightly protruding belly.

After a few seconds, he rasped "Oh my God. I can't believe you're pregnant...with twins. This is unbelievable..." - as he continued to run his hands gently over her. His fingers did one last trace of the babies before he gently pulled her back down to him on the couch.

He looked at her with amazement and then began a fast panic drilling of, "Wait, are you okay? I mean are you feeling okay? You said you were sick - are you still sick?"

She said in a soothing tone, "Luke, I'm fine. It was just a cold and an ear infection. The doctor said that the babies looked great on the ultrasound. There's nothing to worry about."

"Okay." he said as he continued to process the news.

That's when something else clicked.

"That's why you were pulling away from me." he said knowingly with a grin.

"Yeah." she agreed. "I didn't want you to figure it out before I could explain. I didn't want you to think that I was keeping this from you - or that I only came back here because of the babies."

"You know I'd never think that of you." he said dismissively.

"Well," she said reluctantly, "with all that we've been through - I guess I was kind of paranoid about that - especially after Anna didn't tell you that she was pregnant with April."

It was like he didn't even hear her last sentence.

"This is amazing." he said quietly with disbelief.

And that's when she saw it...something she had never seen before...salty tears began to trickle down Luke's cheeks.

This time she wiped them gently from his chiseled face.

He whispered "I'm sorry. I just can't believe...it's like everything that I hoped for in my life is all happening...right in this moment. It's just..."

"A little overwhelming?" she asked sweetly.

Exhaling he said "Yeah."

"Hey, I've had two days to get used to this idea already - you're just starting out." she joked.

He pulled her in tightly and brought his longing lips to hers. The kiss was simple and sweet but conveyed more love than each of them had ever known before.

His next statement hit her like a ton of bricks.

"We're getting married tomorrow." he said bluntly.

"WHAT are you talking about?" she asked with utter disbelief.

He said assertively, "I'm through waiting. We've waited long enough. I don't care if it's not legal - or if we have to do more paper work or blood work or whatever next week - or if it's only you and me there - WE are getting married tomorrow."

"Ah...I know you're being all animalistic and possessive here...but do I get a say in this?" she asked with a tilt to her head.

He replayed what he had just said and realized he might have come across like a lunatic caveman.

He nodded and sighed, before replying with embarrassment, "Of course you do. I'm sorry that might have come out like an order or something...and I didn't even ask you if you still wanted to marry me...I just thought..."

She gave him her more gorgeous smile and interrupted with "Well, you thought right, Mister! Of course I want to marry you...do you think I'm a dream tramp or something? I just don't think we're going to be able to do this tomorrow, Luke. It's too soon."

"No." he insisted. "We can do this - even if we have to fly to Vegas - we can do this."

She rolled her eyes and said sternly, "There is NO WAY I'm getting married in Elvis' Chapel of Love. I love you but there's NO WAY I'm doing that, Lucas Danes."

It dawned on him how ridiculous he was being.

"I'm really killing the mood here, aren't I?" he asked after some introspection.

"A little." Lorelai willingly agreed.

Luke's mind began to wander.

"Who else knows about the babies?" he asked curiously.

"Just you and me." she replied honestly.

"No, really. Who else knows? Rory? Sookie? I'm not upset...I was just wondering because no one has let on about anything." he said sincerely.

"That's because they can't - they don't know!" she insisted.

"REALLY?" he asked with disbelief. "It's not like you to keep something from Rory."

"I KNOW!" Lorelai whole heartedly agreed. "It's been SO hard not to tell her. I've actually been avoiding her so I didn't have to lie to her. I just thought it was important that you were the second to know."

He didn't know why but he loved the fact that no one else knew about the babies right now except them...even if it only lasted for a few minutes.

She teased, "It's our secret for as long as you want to keep it."

He laughed, "I don't know how you did it because I don't think I can keep it a secret - and I HATE telling people anything about my life...usually."

"Well..." Lorelai offered excitedly "Since you seem so insistent on telling someone...maybe we can tell Rory when she gets home from her dinner with her friend. What do you think?"

Luke nodded and quickly realized that Lorelai had no idea who Rory was out with. She surely would have used Jess' name if she knew. He didn't want her to be completely blind sided if the two of them walked through the door together - despite the duo's assurance that they were "just friends."

He winced a smidge but she didn't notice.

He began hesitantly, "So, since we're being honest with each other, I wanted to tell you something...and I want you to TRY and not get upset about it."

Lorelai looked at him skeptically and said a drawn out "Okay..."

He reluctantly revealed, "Rory is out to dinner with Jess. They've been pretty much inseparable for the past three days."

The down trodden look on Lorelai's face pretty much said it all.

He let the sentence hang there for just a moment and then added with uncertainty, "They both say that they're just friends."

She studied Luke's face.

"And you totally don't believe them." she decisively remarked.

"Look," he said throwing up his hands, "I really have no idea. You know what Jess is like - I'm lucky to get a grunt out of him. And Rory isn't exactly breaking down my door to share secrets with me. I just didn't want you to be shell shocked if they show up together...since they don't know you're here."

"Why?" she said with a suspicious grin "Have they been staying here? TOGETHER? Oh my God, they've turned the Crap Shack into the Love Shack!"

As if on cue, the front door swung open and they could hear Rory innocently saying to Jess "I guess I must have left the lights on."

Rory's face froze when she caught sight of her mother and Luke.

Jess raised an eyebrow as he caught Lorelai's eye.

Excitedly, Rory exclaimed "Mom!" and threw her arms around her.

Luke immediately noticed how Lorelai pulled her stomach in as she hugged her daughter.

"I don't understand!" Rory said pulling away. "Why didn't you tell me on the phone that you were coming home?"

Lorelai paused and glanced at Luke.

Luke winked at her and spontaneously asked "Hey, who's up for a movie?"

Rory and Jess exchanged confused glances.

Luke grabbed the remote for the DVD player.

Lorelai happily settled down on the soft couch and waited impatiently for the fireworks to begin. She had a feeling it was going to be a LONG night.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sit near me, Sweets!" Lorelai eagerly insisted.

Rory shot Jess a "What's going on?" look before she plopped next to her Mom on the couch.

She felt obligated to try and explain Jess' sudden presence. She started with "Mom, I just want to -"

Lorelai cut her off.

"Sssssshhhhhhhhhh. It's about to begin." she said excitedly.

Jess slowly walked over to the arm chair. It was strange that Lorelai hadn't said one word to him since he walked into her house. She was never one to mince words. He sat awkwardly in the chair and glanced over at his uncle.

Luke sat on the other side of Rory with the remote fixated on the TV.

"What exactly are we watching?" Rory asked curiously.

Lorelai sang teasingly "You'll seeeeeeeeee." Then she gave Luke a nod.

Jess didn't miss the subtle smirk on his uncle's face.

Luke quickly pushed play on the DVD remote.

Rory had seen plenty of ER episodes to know immediately that she was looking at an ultrasound. Her mother's name at the bottom of the screen took away any mystery of whom it belonged to. She just wasn't 100% sure that what she was seeing on the screen was what you'd normally see in an sonogram. In fact, how could it BE?

Jess wasn't as dense as his uncle. He put two and two together fast... Lorelai's excitement, Luke's smirk, and an ultrasound - and said teasingly "Uncle Luke, did someone forget to wear a raincoat AGAIN?"

Luke impulsively threw the remote at Jess' head. It was a direct hit.

"Geez!" Jess quipped while rubbing the lump on his forehead, "I was just kidding."

"Good way to ruin a moment." Luke grunted.

Rory and Lorelai were completely focused on each other. They didn't hear a word that the men were saying.

"You're PREGNANT?" Rory asked with complete disbelief.

"Yep!" Lorelai answered excitedly. She couldn't contain herself when she screamed, "And it's TWINS!"

Rory's voice went up one octave as she replied, "No! You can't be! HOW? When did you find out? Twins? Oh my God!"

She immediately threw her arms around her Mom and pulled her into a big hug. Lorelai sank into the warmth of her daughter's embrace.

"Tell me everything, Mom...don't leave anything out!" Rory said giddily.

Lorelai enthusiastically repeated the babies' story she had just told to Luke.

She added apologetically, "It was killing me NOT to tell you - that's why I kept avoiding you. I knew I was going to slip up and say something, if I talked to you. I hope you don't hate me for that. I just thought that I should tell Luke, first."

Rory affirmed "I KNEW you were avoiding me! I told Jess that and he said I was being paranoid - but I just had a feeling that something was going on. Of course I never imagined it was THIS! And, I could NEVER be mad about not being the second to know...dads come before sisters."

Rory's eyes went to Luke. He had the happiest look on his face that she had ever seen. She immediately got up and bounced over to him.

"Congratulations!" she said whole heartedly as she put her arms around him. There was no hesitation when Luke tightly embraced her back and thanked her.

Jess got up from the old chair and approached Luke. He extended his hand and said truthfully, "I'm really happy for you."

Luke immediately pulled Jess into a tight hug.

Jess broke the embrace and walked over to Lorelai who was still seated on the couch. He felt totally awkward as he approached her. She eyed him curiously for a brief moment and then stood up.

She opened her arms to him and said with a smile and sarcastic wit, "I guess, somehow, this is going to make us related. We should probably start the uncomfortable and weird hugging now."

Jess nodded and gave her a brief embrace with his sincerest congratulations.

Rory taunted "Look at you two! It's like you actually like each other!"

Both of them shot Rory a look of contempt.

"Okay, okay." Rory reassured them. "We'll just start with baby steps here."

Everyone laughed.

Silence fell on the room. Rory decided to break it with the next set of obvious questions.

"So..." she said with light hearted wonder, "What are you two kids going to do next? This is quite a predicament you've gotten yourself into."

"Well," Lorelai responded contemplatively, "I'm absolutely starving - which means the babies are starving too. I'd like to eat."

She shot Luke her prettiest smile.

Luke was more than eager to please her and his babies. He rambled, "I'd offer to make something - but I know you two so I'm sure there is no food in the house AT all. We could go to the diner and I'll cook or we can do take out or I can go to the store and get some stuff to make or..."

Jess rolled his eyes at his uncle.

"WHAT?" Luke snapped when he noticed the gesture.

Jess smirked and asked, "Is this how you're going to be for the next six months?"

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked unknowingly.

"Are you going to FREAK OUT every time Lorelai wants to eat?" Jess laughed.

Luke began ranting, "I'm NOT freaking out. I'm being considerate. Maybe if you tried it sometime, you'd be surprised how..."

Lorelai interrupted by clearing her throat and saying, "Boys, this is all very entertaining - but I'm FAMISHED. Watching you two go at it is doing nothing for my empty stomach - and those of my babies."

"Mom, you are SO going to milk this for all it's worth!" Rory chuckled.

Lorelai winked awkwardly at her daughter.

Luke approached Lorelai and kissed her sweetly on the top of her head.

He reassured her, "Whatever you want - I'll make it or get it. What would you like?"

Lorelai's eyes darted back and forth while she thought about it. Finally, she answered definitively, "Chinese food from Al's, Red Vines from Doose's and two cups of coffee from Luke's."

Luke shook his head adamantly and said "NO WAY! The babies can't eat that crap! I've been watching you shovel that poison into your mouth for years. It's fine if you want to kill yourself slowly - but no way are you doing that to OUR babies."

Now Lorelai was the one rolling her eyes.

Softly, she said to Luke, " You said you'd get me whatever I want - and I have witnesses, Mister. I have CRAVINGS. It's not me that wants the Chinese food, Red Vines and coffee - it's the babies."

Sternly, Luke repeated with exasperation, "No way! You blaming this on the babies is NOT going to get me to change my mind. You just can't eat all that junk while you are pregnant, Lorelai. I mean it."

Lorelai was annoyed. She replied with snark, "Well then, since I have no say in what I want - why don't you just make me whatever you are REQUIRING me to eat!"

Rory shot Jess a look. She tilted her head to motion him to follow her into the kitchen. He happily vacated the living room with her.

Lorelai guilted Luke with, "See, now you made the kids so uncomfortable, they had to leave the room."

Luke wasn't having any of that.

"Oh PLEASE! If that scared them off, then surely they've never met me before." he quipped.

He took a deep breath, sat down beside her and took hold of her hands.

He explained gently, "Look, I don't want to upset you. I love you and I love our babies. I just want them to have the best chance in this world - and I REALLY think that if you feed them Red Vines and coffee, they're not going to have it."

Lorelai let a little of her anger slip away.

She reminded him, "Luke, I ate Red Vines and drank coffee when I was pregnant with Rory. She was the valedictorian of her prep school graduating class. She got accepted to every ivy league school she applied to. She's a student at Yale...I really don't think that they harmed her."

Luke searched his mind for a compelling argument and only came up with "But she sucks at sports. She doesn't have an athletic bone in her body."

Lorelai scrunched up her nose and asked with amazement, "And you think THAT'S from Red Vines and coffee?"

"Well," Luke offered, "It could be. We don't really know. So why take the chance?"

Lorelai mulled the situation over. She knew that he was just concerned about the babies. She also knew there was no way she was eating clean for the duration of this pregnancy - so she didn't want to make a promise to him that she had no intention of keeping.

"How 'bout this?" she offered. "I'll have a salad with the Chinese food - I'll only have one or two Red Vines for dessert - and I'll cut the coffee demand to only one cup."

Luke realized that this was not a battle he was going to win completely. Compromise was the only way to go.

"You are REALLY going to eat the salad?" he asked suspiciously. "You aren't going to force it on Rory or throw it out when I'm not looking?"

"I promise." Lorelai said holding up two fingers.

"You aren't a Boy Scout, Lorelai." Luke chuckled. "Those two fingers don't mean much. But I'll take you at your word about the salad."

"So glad that we got that settled." Lorelai said. "Can you PLEASE go and get the food now, Luke?"

"Absolutely!" Luke answered. "And I'll take Jess with me so you and Rory can...uh...talk. Maybe you can find out what's really going on with those two."

Lorelai gave Luke a quick kiss and responded "You know that I will!"


	11. Chapter 11

Lorelai waited for the door to slam shut before peppering her daughter with prying questions.

She commanded, "Okay, open your bag - what kind of junk do you have stored in there? I'm STARVING!".

"Mom!" Rory protested. "I don't have any salad or fruit in my purse and if I give you anything else, Luke will KILL me!"

Lorelai tried grabbing at her daughter's bag. Rory pulled it back from her.

"You must at least have a Snickers bar. You never go anywhere without one. GIVE IT TO ME! Remember, I gave you life!" she urgently insisted.

Rory reluctantly handed over the candy bar to her pleading mother - who began devouring it while she spoke.

"So," Lorelai said swallowing, "I wasn't expecting to see Jess. Where's Logan?"

"Who knows." Rory answered with a disgusted tone. "London? Nebraska? The Congo? Vegas? I've stopped trying to keep up with him."

"Did you two officially break up?" she queried.

Rory retorted with exasperation, "Again, who knows? If I think we're broken up - he thinks we're on a break. In my mind, we've broken up. I don't know what's going on in his head. I never know. I just know I'm sick of his needs always coming first."

Lorelai nodded. She always felt that Rory had a pattern of choosing selfish men.

Lorelai tried to choose her words carefully - but really, she had no filter.

"So, you and Jess are back together? Think THAT'S a good idea?" she asked with a hopeless tone.

Rory could see the disappointment all over her mother's face.

She reassured her directly, "No, Mom, it doesn't mean that. Right now, we're just friends. He's disappointed me too much for him to be anything more than that to me...at least for now."

Lorelai was SO relieved to hear that..but she needed more details.

She pondered, "So, you're saying being friends is "just for now." What does he have to do to make you want to get back together with him?"

"Please, please, PLEASE - let her say there's nothing he can do!" Lorelai pleaded to herself.

Rory had given a lot of thought to her mother's question over the past couple of days. Her answer came easily.

She explained with sincerity, "I know you don't want to hear this Mom, but I really love Jess. We are so compatible in some things and complete opposite at others. I'm never bored with him. He challenges me. But, our problems are always the same. If he doesn't like something - he won't do it or he takes off. If he has a problem - he won't discuss it with me - and he takes off. I told him flat out that I can't have a long term relationship with someone like that. I can't marry someone like that and I certainly can't have kids with someone like that."

Lorelai thought to herself "Good thing Luke doesn't feel like that - because she just described me to a tee!"

She couldn't believe she was saying this but the words "Some people can change" tumbled of her Snickers stuffed mouth.

Rory nodded contemplatively and said "Yeah, I think they can - but how do you KNOW when they've changed? I mean, it's not something that's confirmed until you're in the thick of some bad situation. I don't want to be sitting around waiting for something awful to happen just to test if Jess is different now."

Lorelai nodded and agreed "Yeah, I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm not sure something life or death has to come up though for you to notice a change."

Rory said hesitantly, "I know I can confide in you, Mom - and you won't think I'm coming off like a snob or anything."

Her mother was curious to know what her daughter had to say.

"Sure, you know that I've certainly had a few times when I wasn't the most politically correct." Lorelai laughed.

Quietly, Rory confessed, "I'm worried that Jess is just too damaged to change."

"Damaged?" Lorelai questioned with an unknowing scrunch to her face.

"Yeah." Rory nodded. "I mean he grew up without a father - kind of like me - except I had Grandpa and Luke and occasionally Dad to fill in the space. And then his Mom was never there - and if she was it was with some strange guy. He spent so much time alone. And by the time he got to Luke - I think it was just too late for someone to nurture him and for it to make much of a difference."

Lorelai had to admit to herself that she never looked at Jess' upbringing nearly as closely as Rory had. It explained a lot.

She had to agree with Rory and said sadly, "I can't imagine growing up like that. I'm sure it affects you forever."

Rory sighed and said "You know, I can't really get into it - but Jess has had it much harder than I think you - or even Luke - realize."

Lorelai wasn't going to pry into something that wasn't any of her business. Still, it didn't stop her from worrying about her daughter.

"You know, you can't fix Jess, Rory." she stated matter of factly.

"Don't I know it!" Rory said with exasperation. "I've tried everything since the day I met him - asking, begging, pleading - anger, love, threats, discussion, compromise, listening, crying - nothing works - he just shuts down and takes off. I don't trust him."

Truthfully, Lorelai responded, "He hasn't earned your trust, Rory. You can't be in a relationship with him, if you don't trust him."

"I know." she replied softly.

"I do want to tell you one thing about Jess." Rory said seriously.

"Sure." her mother replied.

Quietly, she revealed, "He was the one who talked me into going back to Yale."

"What?" Lorelai questioned with disbelief.

"He did." she affirmed. "He came to Grandma's house to show me the book he had written. I couldn't believe he had written a BOOK. I mean - really - Jess, an author? The next night we went out - with Logan. Logan got drunk and was a complete ass. Jess confronted me about him and about the choices I was making in my life - particularly about dropping out of Yale. I took one look at all Jess had accomplished with no support from anyone - and me having just about everything handed to me - and I realized what a waste my life had turned into."

Lorelai wasn't ready to give him any credit.

"So, what did Boy Wonder do that no one else could do?" she snapped.

Rory shrugged and replied, "I guess nothing different than what anyone else did. It just sounded differently coming out of him. He was so angry and disappointed in me. I could tell that he saw me differently than he used to. I felt really ashamed and embarrassed."

Lorelai asked with sarcasm, "So, next time, you do something dumb, I should just completely humiliate you and you'll change your mind?"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother.

"So..." her mother said probingly, "Does that mean that this is just a physical thing? Luke eluded to the fact that you two have been staying here for the past couple of nights."

Rory laughed and shook her head.

She insisted, "Nothing has happened, Mom. He kissed me once and that's when I told him that I wasn't ready to be in a relationship with him. Mostly, we've been holed up on this couch watching movies until we both fall asleep. We just like spending time together and since he's going back to Philly tomorrow and I'm going back to Yale...we just thought we'd make the most out of the time we had...and also he says that Luke snores."

Lorelai knew her daughter was telling the truth. She wasn't so sure about Jess though since she knew for a fact that Luke does NOT snore. She suspected that Jess was staying close to her daughter in case she had a change of heart about him.

"Let's talk about YOU now!" Rory said enthusiastically. "What's going to happen with you and Luke?"

Lorelai smiled and said casually, "Oh, didn't I tell you? He wants to get married...tomorrow!"

Rory's shocked mouth hung open.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Luke and Jess walked the streets of Stars Hollow on their way back to the Crap Shack. They were toting all the food necessities that Lorelai had requested - plus some extras that Luke thought would be good for her and the babies.

"You seem really happy about the babies." Jess stated.

"I am." Luke quickly replied.

"That's great." Jess said honestly. "Where do you think things will go with you and Lorelai?"

"Well," Luke said with a bit of embarrassment, "Here's the thing. I got a bit excited when I found out she was pregnant - and I kind of insisted that we get married tomorrow."

Jess just shook his head.

"Yeah, I know." Luke said pathetically, "It wasn't the smoothest move but I'm tired of waiting. We were engaged before and ran into all those problems. I think we've worked through them and now with the babies on the way...I just want to get on with our lives together.

"I get that." Jess said truthfully.

"Would you be my best man?" Luke asked with no hesitation.

Jess questioned with surprise, "Me? Really?"

"Of course!" Luke replied knowingly. "I can't think of anyone better for the job."

"But I've put you through so much. I was terrible when I lived with you." Jess said humbly.

Luke dismissed him with, "Oh please, that's all in the past. That was years ago, Jess. You were a stupid kid. Besides, who else am I going to ask - TJ? Kirk? Taylor? You are IT for me."

Jess smiled, "In that case, I'd be honored."

Luke laughed and said, "Just so you know...Lorelai says there's no way in hell she's getting married tomorrow. So feel free to make plans. Just keep in mind I'm talking about the VERY near future."

"Absolutely!" Jess agreed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the foursome finished their giant meal, Lorelai was absolutely exhausted. It was awkward though. She wanted nothing more than to spend the night wrapped in Luke's arms - but they had been strangers for months. "Would it be weird to just jump back into this?" she thought to herself. "Hell, I'm pregnant with his twins...I think we've already jumped...and he asked me to marry him...and you ARE supposed to sleep with your future husband, right?" she reassured herself. She felt a bit shy talking to him about it - which was so unlike her - she figured pregnancy must be turning her into a lunatic. She knew what it was that was really bothering her though - the sting of rejection from him - she couldn't get it out of her mind even after all this time.

Rory didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't want to spend the night in the Crap Shack stuck with her mom and Luke! She figured they'd want their privacy after being apart for months. But she didn't want to leave Jess. She thought they'd have one more night together - not that anything would happen - but she just loved spending time with him and didn't want it to end before it had to. Could she get him to come back to Yale with her?

Luke was feeling all kinds of awkward. He could tell Lorelai was wiped out from traveling. He wanted to take her to bed. He wanted to stay with her. He wanted to hold her. He wanted that connection that he was aching for. But, here he was in her living room sandwiched between her daughter and his nephew.

Jess just knew he needed to get out of there WITH Rory. He hoped she felt the same way.

Silence filled the room.

Rory broke first with "So...I think I'm going to head back to Yale tonight."

Jess was SO relieved - hoping he could tag along.

Lorelai and Luke both let out a collective subtle sigh.

"Are you SURE, hon?" Lorelai asked half heartedly out of guilty obligation. "I mean I just got back and we haven't had time to catch up."

Then Luke felt guilty. He should let them spend time together.

"No, Jess and I should get going." Luke offered sincerely. "You two haven't seen each other in months."

Luke didn't catch Lorelai's eye roll.

"No." Rory insisted. "I have stuff that I need to get done before Monday at school, Mom. I really need to get back tonight. But, no worries, we can catch up next weekend, for sure."

"Hey, Jess?" Rory asked.

"Yeah?" Jess eagerly replied.

"Can you, um, come help me with packing up my stuff?" she asked sweetly.

He was more than happy to follow her into her bedroom.

Jess sat on her twin bed as she piled text books into her backpack.

"Not so keen on spending the night with your mom and Luke?" Jess laughed.

"I think it's more like they wouldn't be too happy with ME here." Rory chuckled.

"Probably so." Jess conceded.

Rory felt self conscious about asking Jess to come with her. Was she leading him on? She told him that she didn't want a relationship with him so asking him to follow her to her dorm room seemed liked a mixed message.

She tried to be subtle.

"So...um...what do you have planned for the rest of the weekend?" she questioned a bit awkwardly.

He could sense her shyness.

"I'm thinking of taking a tour of New Haven - if I can find the right tour guide." he rasped.

A slow smile began to spread across her face.

Jess returned the smile and asked, "So, that would be okay with you?"

"Yeah." Rory nodded and answered softly, "That would be great."

He was very happy to hear her say that.

Jess motioned towards the door and said, "I'm not sure what we should say to...them."

"As little as possible." Rory replied honestly.

He offered, "How about you get a head start? I have to go back to Luke's and pack up my stuff. I'll meet you up there as soon as I'm done."

Rory said her good-byes to her mom and Luke - promising to call tomorrow to catch up some more.

Jess decided to just tell them that he was going back to the diner. There was no sense getting into this now with them. He knew Lorelai would be upset if she knew where he was really going. He left Luke a note, at the diner, apologizing for not saying a proper good-bye and letting him know that he was at Yale with Rory.

Luke and Lorelai sat across from each other on the couch. Both were absolutely exhausted after this long and emotional day. Luke stood up and extended his strong arm to Lorelai. She gratefully took hold of it and he pulled her up gently from the sofa. Wordlessly, they started the slow ascent up the old staircase eager to reunite in all ways humanly possible.


End file.
